Everyone Has a History
by Kasimyr
Summary: This is a backstory to how the being known as "Slenderman" was created. It follows him as a young man named Aris, and how meeting a single demon will change his life forever, sending him into a spiral of mysteries, adventures, and horrors. Was joining the demon a good decision, or a mistake? Rated T for violence and language
1. Burn

I am ancient. I have been alive for nearly four-hundred years. Most of my long life has been a mess of evil, promises, deaths, and kin. I am a mark of fear and evil. I am THE mark of evil. My story has gone unheard for centuries, and I grow impatient. You are here, so will you sit and listen? Live a little longer before I tear you limb from limb? Excellent. I should introduce myself better, but you probably already know. I am the pale mask of despair and evil. I am Slenderman, and this is my story.

Dead leaves crunched under my boots as I walked through the dense forest, the cold wind blowing through my ruffled brown hair. It was my birthday, and the Master Blacksmith had allowed me to take a few days off to see my family. Four years ago, I had been apprenticed to the grumpy man by my father's will, forced to leave my secluded childhood home in the woods and my twin, Avis.

Two hours of dense forest later, I arrived my home. A large clearing had been opened up in the forest, the bright blue sky finally visible after my long trek through the woods. Glancing around the clearing, I noticed a few differences. The barn had disappeared, the only thing left was a charred area of dirt where grass refused to grow. The large garden had expanded, and huge stacks of preserved corn and wheat were stacked up against the wall. Where was everybody?

I turned to the house, a little worried. Had they gone to town? On a nice autumn day like this, Da should've been working to rebuild the barn, or tending to the crops! The house itself looked well kept, the dark wooden boards in good repair, the windows washed, and an oil lamp burning in the window. Why were they wasting the oil? Mom had always been very frugal with our supplies, mostly because we were twenty leagues from any other people, and fifty from a town.

I heard a rustling behind me and whipped around, thinking a boar or bear might have walked up behind me, but there was nothing. I heard a soft laugh from above. Above? I looked up just in time to see somebody jump down from a tree and barrel into me. "What the hell?!" I managed to squeak, my brother squeezing the life from me. "Aris!" He cried happily, his hug surprisingly strong for such a skinny boy. "How are you?" I grinned. "I'm doing great, Avis! How are you?" His smile disappeared quickly. "I'm alright." he replied reluctantly.

I frowned at him. "What's wrong?" He looked at his feet, his eye boring a hole into the dirt. "I'm fine, like I said. Da and mom aren't, though." I looked around worriedly, hoping desperately that the worst hadn't happened. "Are they... sick?" Avis shook his head. "They died." he said simply. "Da was in the barn when it caught fire, and mom ran in to save him. Neither of them escaped. When the barn burned out , I searched for their bodies and found something weird. There were no full corpses, just charred chunks of flesh scattered here and there, and with all of the cows and goats having being in the barn, it was impossible to tell if all of the body parts were together when I buried them."

I stared at Avis in shock. "Dead?" How long ago? I whispered. "Seven months." He replied solemnly, his one eye tearing up. I hugged him hard, ruffling his hair. "Avis, how did you survive?" When we were kids, Avis had an accident that resulted in him losing an eye. He had tripped over a root onto a sharp pole, which had speared into his eye, just barely missing. He had been lucky to live. Ever since that day, I had promised to protect my twin, and I had been furious when Da had forced me to become a blacksmith's apprentice, leaving Avis behind. I had been the one to leave the pole outside.

Despite being identical twins, I was much larger. We were of similar height, but I was much more muscular from my apprenticeship. Avis was still wiry and thin, good at climbing trees and exploring forests. None of those skills explained how Avis had survived alone, having to grow a large amount of corn and wheat. Surviving this long must've been difficult for my smaller half-blind twin.

Avis looked at me, hurt. "You think I'm weak." It wasn't a question, but a statement. "No!" I protested. "I ju-" He slapped a hand over my mouth. "Don't deny it! You think I'm weak, and you're right. I'm not as strong as you, but I have other abilities. I may not be able to lift an anvil like you, but I can use one muscle better than many people. My brain. I figured out an underground irrigation system from the nearby river, I planted Red Clover to keep pests away, and pulling weeds is easy. I gathered as many acorns as I could store for acorn flour, and gather berries."

I quietly removed his hand from my mouth. "Avis? I'm sorry for offending you. I never meant to, I was just in shock from hearing about Da and mom. You're incredible, I never would have even thought about some of the stuff you devised! Will you please forgive me?" His eyes softened. "Of course, and I'm sorry for being so defensive. I just..." His voice faltered, "I just missed you!" I smiled and pulled him into another hug. "Don't worry Avis, I'm here now. The blacksmith let me visit!"

His face crumpled again. "You're visiting. I forgot for a few minutes, I'm sorry." I frowned, a battle raging in my mind. What should I do? Da made the blacksmith apprentice me, and I was already almost finished with the apprenticeship, but I couldn't leave my smaller twin alone! Surely Da would forgive me under the circumstances! "Avis, I'm not going back." He frowned. "What?" I grinned at him, his deep green eyes narrowed in confusion and his mid-length brown hair mussed. "I'm not leaving you, Avis! I could never forgive myself if I let my little brother sit here alone for two years! How do you feel about going on an adventure?" He frowned. "I was born a minute before you. Who are you calling little?"

I frowned, and was about to speak when he broke into laughter, and I was so relieved that I nearly cried. I was so worried that he had lost his old, sweet, kind, funny personality, but it seemed like it had never left, just been in hiding. He grinned, pulling me into the house. "An adventure sounds perfect, but only after our birthday dinner! I'm so happy that I don't have to be alone! I need to make more, I only made enough for one person!"

I watched him frown in concentration, making a large dinner akin to what mom had used to make. "Need any help?" I inquired. He looked at me, grinning. "Yeah! Soak the bitter out of the acorn flour, will you?" I frowned, confused. He rolled his eyes with a sigh, walking over and explaining it to me. "Pour the acorn mash into the cloth, soak it, wring it out, repeat until no longer bitter. Understand?" I nodded sheepishly and began to work.

A few hours later, a large completed meal was sitting on the large oak table. Avis and I sat down and began eating the rabbit I'd caught, acorn bread, goat butter, corn, and carrots. It was the best meal I'd eaten in a very long time, and I ate ravenously. "So, Aris?" Avis asked, eating calmly, "How is your blacksmith's apprenticeship going?" I thought for a moment. "It's alright," I replied, "Just a little boring. It's very repetitive, and the customers are self-righteous nobles with too much money and not enough brains." Avis broke into a smile, laughing. "That sounds worse than what I've been doing here! At least this is interesting!" I fell quiet.

"Avis?" I asked softly, "This adventure I was talking about... How do you feel about leaving tomorrow?" He frowned and set his fork down, his green eyes locked on mine. "Why?" He questioned. "I just think it'd be a good idea." I said lamely. "It feels wrong to be here with Da and Mom gone. I know it's very rude of me to appear out of nowhere and ask you to run off with me, but I can't leave you alone, and now it simply seems wrong to live in a home with so many painful memories." He frowned, buttering a slice of bread. "I see what you mean."

I waited patiently, knowing he was thinking hard. I felt bad for asking, but I knew it was the best choice. I hadn't told Avis, but ever since I stepped into the clearing, I felt someone watching me, a malicious force. "Alright." He said suddenly, startling me out of my thoughts. "Let's go tomorrow." I smiled at him, slightly surprised. "Thank you, Avis."

We washed the dishes and packed two bags full of food, waterskins, a flint and steel, a few private possessions, most of our money, and a bedroll. "Let's get some sleep!" Avis said cheerfully, flopping onto Da and Mom's old bed. I smiled, wincing inwardly at the sight of Da's knife. I slid it into my bag and laid onto my old bed, falling asleep more quickly than in years.


	2. Those Damned Bandits!

When I woke up, brother was sleeping at the table, head in hands. I shook my head. When would that idiot stop pushing himself so hard? I slid out of bed with a yawn and went to make breakfast. I'm no chef, but mother had taught us both how to cook. She never thought I would get a wife, I was too hardheaded. I glanced over at Avis, who was slowly waking up. I smiled. Brother would easily get a wife, he was kind and didn't look too rugged like me. "Morning Aris!" Brother said cheerfully, standing up and stretching. "Good morning!" I replied back, grinning. His cheerful attitude was refreshing, especially after months of only an old grumpy blacksmith and his stuck-up customers.

Avis grinned. "Ready to go, Aris?" I nodded and glanced nervously at the two packs sitting on the counter. We were finally about to leave our childhood home, the little house in the middle of the huge woods. I finished my breakfast and slung the pack around my back. It was heavy, but I had been lifting anvils and swinging hammers. The pack felt as heavy as a feather pillow. I looked at my brother critically. He didn't look very strong, how could he carry the pack the distance we had to go? I reached for his pack, but Avis grabbed it before I could. "Ah, ah!" Brother smirked. "I'm no weakling! I haven't been just sitting around bored you know!" He shouldered the pack with ease and grinned at me. Avis could be as stubborn as a mule sometimes. He was soon to be a very sore mule. I shook my head and looked around one last time before stepping outside. We started walking east, not once looking back.

One month later

I laid out my bedroll and began making a fire while my brother started getting out ingredients for a stew. I glanced at the setting sun. The colors danced in the sky, reds, oranges, and yellows. The sky looked like the fire at my feet, and I wondered how it had been for our parents to die surrounded by the colors of the beautiful setting sun. I shook my head sadly and looked into the distance. We had passed through numerous small villages, but none of them had seemed to be a good home for us. We had heard about a large city to the south, and were heading towards it. We had walked about sixty leagues since leaving our old childhood home, so we had to be close by now. I estimated two leagues and brother estimated four.

I smiled to myself as I thought about my brother, he had surprised me in more ways than one. Avis had carried his pack the entire time and never complained, even though he was quite a bit weaker than me. He had also proven to be an excellent traveler, talking bandits out of robbing us twice. He loved the countryside, and he was at home in the woods. He had often insisted to go out of our way to walk under trees instead of on the bright open plains. The sky sank slowly into a deep blackness and stars started appearing, one by one, turning the blackness into a beautiful landscape dotted with small pictures, pictures that had stories. Da had always taken us out on clear nights like this and told us the stories of the stars. "Dinner! Come on and eat brother!" Avis's words interjected my thoughts. I walked over to him and ruffled his hair, suddenly grateful for the company.

The bandits attacked as we were asleep. One moment we were dreaming of the stars and sunsets, the next we were jerked awake and pinned to the ground. I struggled as hard as I could, but stopped as they held a knife to my throat. I glared angrily as they went through our packs. I glanced over at Avis, who was chatting with one of the guys and smiling, trying to save our lives by getting the men to like us. I saw the fear in his eyes, and wondered how the hell his voice wasn't shaking. Avis suddenly turned to look at me. "Isn't that right, Aris?" I stared blankly. "What?" One of the men snorted. "That idiot wasn't listening." Avis looked hurt. "My brother isn't an idiot! He just doesn't have much of an attention span." The man smirked at me. "I can tell." I glared at him and sighed. Clearly this was going to be a very long night.

The leader of their small group walked up, carrying what little valuables we had. "Well guys? Have you made your decision?" The men looked at each other and one spoke up. "This one here," he said, pointing to Avis, "We should take with us. He'd make a good con man. The other one we should kill." We both stared at him. Avis a con man? He would never be able to do it! He was way too kind to do anything cruel, and conning people out of their life savings was very cruel. The leader looked at the man in surprise. "Take on another person? We haven't done that in a while. I will trust your judgement, however." He untied Avis, who immediately scrambled up and stood in front of me. "Don't hurt him! Please! I normally would rather die than do anything like con people. If you spare him though, I promise to help you in any way that I can! Just please, don't hurt my brother!"

I looked at Avis in surprise. "Avis, what do you-" He cut me off with a glare. "Quiet Aris." I stared at him in shock. He had never been like this in the years I had known him. The men looked at Avis carefully. The leader looked at the man. "Is he worth it?" The man nodded, sealing Avis's fate. They untied me and started walking off. I saw Avis turn and wave tears in his eyes. I was in too much shock to go after them. I had never expected this to happen. Never.


	3. Sharp Teeth and Red Eyes

I stood up as the boy walked into the clearing. I had been sitting there, thinking about going after them. I decided that Avis wouldn't have wanted me too, that much was clear by the last look he had given me. I desperately wanted to find him, but I didn't want to go against Brother's wishes. They didn't seem like they'd hurt him anyways. The boy stopped a few feet away and smiled, jerking me out of my thoughts. His teeth were sharp and pointed, like a wolf. I went pale and backed up against the tree. "What's wrong?" The boy sauntered closer, smirking. I tried to do what brother would've done. I smiled. "Nothing at all! You just surprised me!" He blinked, surprised by my reaction. That was when I noticed his eyes. They had been hard to see in the dark, but he was closer now, and I could see they were a blood red, glowing dimly in the pitch darkness.

I think that was when he saw the smile fade from my face and be replaced by a look of fear. He grinned again, but looked a small bit warier than he had earlier. "What.. What the hell are you?" I managed to say, terrified he would attack. He surprised me by laughing. It was a strange sound, both harsh and somehow smooth. He looked up at me, teeth bared in an evil smile. "How ironic, you humans. What the Hell am I? I am a beast _from_ Hell! A demon, if you please." He snickered again as I slid to the ground, unconscious.

I woke up the next morning, which surprised me. I quickly sat up and looked around for the demon I had met last night, but there was no sign of him. I laid back down with a sigh and closed my eyes. Brother was gone, and I was alone. I had met a demon. Da was wrong, the creatures from the stories and stars were real. What else was he wrong about? I shuddered and opened my eyes again. I saw a figure with red eyes standing over me, looking amused. I yelped and scooted back. "What the hell? What are you doing in the s..sunlight? I thought demons couldn't stand the light!" He looked at me for a moment, then sighed. "Human, I'm standing in the sunlight. Its obviously untrue."

I frowned, "My name isn't human, demon. It's Aris. What's yours? Do demons have names?" He looked at me, seeming unsure for once. "Of course we have names! We aren't heathens. We are much more intelligent than your kind. You want my name though?" He snickered. "Names have power, Aris. Thank you for yours!" I paled. What had I done? I knew he was a demon, but I gave him my name? Why hadn't I paid more attention to the stories! "I already knew it. " The demon said with a smirk. "I've been following you and your twin ever since you left home." I glared at him. "Damn you! Why? Were you planning to devour us?" He snorted and rolled his eyes. "I'm not hungry yet. Don't temp me."

I stared at him, unnerved. I never expected to meet a demon, let alone one that acted like this. Whenever I imagined a demon, I had always pictured a huge black beast with soulless holes for eyes. Not a boy around the same age as me. I examined him more closely. He had was tall, sickly thin and pale with dark black messy hair and his blood red eyes. He was wearing a black tunic, breeches, and hooded traveling cloak. I noticed the two dagger on the sides of his belt. They were identical, 9 inches long, with black silver-inlaid sheathes. The demon noticed me looking a pulled one out. I tensed, ready to scramble backwards. The damned bastard rolled his eyes and grinned. "Like them? I made them myself. We all make our own weapons, it gives us a connection with them." He handed it to me, watching carefully.

I looked at him for a few moments, and then looked down at the dagger in my hand. I couldn't help but marvel at the craftsmanship, having been a blacksmith's apprentice. It had a beautiful silver blade that seamlessly flowed into the shining black handle. "Is this obsidian?" I asked, surprised. He looked at me curiously. "Yes, obsidian. How did you know?" I grinned, happy he at least didn't know everything about me. "I was a blacksmith's apprentice for two years. Some of the nobles liked chunks of obsidian in their sword hilts.

The demon nodded, deep in thought. "I'm hungry." He muttered after a few minutes. Before I could react he grinned at me. "Make something for yourself. I will be back in a few hours." He swiftly took his dagger back and walked off south, towards the nearest town. I sat warily for a few minutes, then started making some stew. I looked south more than once, wondering what my life had turned into.


	4. A Deal with a Devil

I gave an angry sigh as I was washing my dishes. Where was that demon? I didn't much like him, but now that I knew demons were real, it felt safer to have a friendly-if you could call him friendly- demon around, at least until I knew more about their utterly frightening kind. I was still mulling over the existence of star creatures when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I whirled around and punched the demon in the stomach. He looked at me, confused. "What did I do?" I sighed. "You just surprised me! I'm sorry." He shrugged with a grin and sat on a log. "No problem, Aris." He waved his hand in a "Whatever" gesture. I noticed his hands were stained red with blood.

"Good meal?" I inquired, still shaking slightly, "I did! That family was very sweet!" He grinned darkly and bent to wash his hands in the stream. I looked at him, horrified. "A whole family?! Why did you need a whole family?!" He looked up at me. "I don't eat their flesh! How disgusting. I rip out their hearts and eat their souls. I'm no heathen!" I paled and nodded. "Of course, how silly of me." He smiled at me with a weird look in his eyes. "We don't eat because we are hungry. I know I said I was hungry earlier, but I wasn't really hungry in the way humans think. I was feeling weak. We eat to both keep our energy levels up, and to get stronger. We can survive without souls, we just get very weak."

I stared at him, thinking. What a strange revelation, demons didn't have to eat as we did! They ate human souls to get stronger. I found myself dreaming about how nice it'd be to be able to get stronger so simply. If I was strong, I'd be able to save my brother! I couldn't though, I was human, not a ruthless monster. I looked up and saw the demon looking at me, an unnerving smile on his face. "You wanted to know my name earlier, yes? I suppose I might as well tell you, its not like you know how to use names in spells." I looked at him in surprise. "You're going to tell me? Well... thank you, I suppose." He smirked. "My name is Azenvel. Call me Azen. I blinked in surprise. "Azen? Your name also begins with an A, how ironic! He looked at me with a small smile and nodded.

"I need to ask you something." He said suddenly. I looked up, started. "What? Go ahead." He looked at me, completely serious. "Demons have a custom of choosing a human partner to help them. The human doesn't stay completely human, of course. The human changes into a higher being more similar to a demon. The human also enjoys a lifespan the same of a demon's, which is eternal until they're killed, which almost never happens. The human has to do whatever the demon says, but since they're usually friends, it's almost never a slave-like relationship." I stared at him. Was he going to ask for me to become his "partner"? I'd only known him for a few days! "What are you asking?" I said warily. He smirked at me. "I'm asking if you want to make a deal with a demon."


	5. Tearswood Bridge

I burst out laughing, unable to help myself. "This has to be a joke, right? Why would a _demon_ ask for _me_ to be his partner!" He stared at me, no trace of humor on his face. "Aris, this is no joke." A an evil look came into his eye. "After all, if you refuse, how will you ever be strong enough to save your brother?" I glared at him. "Are you really blackmailing me into this? No! I'd never help a demon, especially help them kill innocent people." He looked at me for a few minutes, and then a smirk grew on his face. "Alright, Aris. You will change your mind, I know. Why would you refuse? You have nothing to live for." He dropped a piece of paper at my feet and left, disappearing into the darkness.

I watched the darkness for a while, wondering if he'd come back. I surprised myself by being rather sad. In the few days I had known the demon, I'd grown to like him quite a bit. He had felt like an actual friend, which I had never had because of my childhood home's isolation. I peered into the darkness, half-hoping I'd see him appear and walk back. He didn't, so I bent and picked up the slip of paper Azen had dropped before leaving and examined it. It was a normal yellowish bit of paper with some sort of ink. He didn't seem the type to carry a quill, so I wondered how and when he'd written the words.

It was short and confusing, only having a few words written on it. "Under Tearswood Bridge at moon-high" I sat on a log, trying to figure out what he'd meant. It was obviously a meeting time and place, but why did he give it to me? Did he really expect me to change my mind and help a _demon_? I sighed and slid into my bedroll. I could think about my choices tomorrow, I was exhausted.

When I woke up, I looked around for Azen. Still no sign of him. I packed up my little camp and started heading south, towards the large town, and as I walked, I thought. Maybe the demon was right, I had nothing much to live for now that Avis was gone. I had no home, no company, no money, and no job. I hadn't even finished my blacksmithing apprenticeship, and I was too old to get a new one! I'd have to become a farmer or hermit, and I couldn't bear the thought of having such a boring and unfulfilled life! I just didn't know what to do.

As I walked into the town, all I could think about was how many people there were! There were so many of them! _Like vermin,_ I caught myself thinking. I stopped, horrified. Why would I think that?! I had been around that demon too long. Humans aren't supposed to think of their kind like rats. I stared moving again, looking around at all of the market stalls and shops. I saw a large building and started walking towards it, and as I walked nearer and nearer, I found myself more and more awed. It was huge! It was a rectangular dark wood building with slabs of shiny rock in complex patterns all across the sides of the building. The doors were two huge open rose-colored slabs of wood, covered with intricately carved patterns. It was an impressive building.

I walked up to the doors and peeked in. I gasped at the sight of huge rows filled with books. The shelves looked like a maze, and the bookshelves reached up the the high ceiling. A library! The entire building was dimly lit by covered candles here and there. I hesitantly took a step in, then walked to an old man sitting at a desk near the front, who I assumed was the librarian. "Hello sir!" I said quietly, not wanting to disturb the peaceful aura. He looked up at me. "What do you want, child?" I stiffened. I wasn't a child! I was about to tell him so when I had an idea.

"I need to know about Tearswood Bridge."He looked at me, rather annoyed. "Why do you think I'd know about every bridge in the kingdom?! Go to section 58." He looked back down at his book. I sighed, and then went to find section 58. It turned out that section 58 had over one-thousand books. I started looking through them when a man walked up to me. I recognized him, he had been sitting close by while I was talking to the librarian.

"You wanted to know about the Tearswood bridge?" I smiled. "Yes, why? Do you know anything about it?" He looked at me warily. "I know about it alright, it's right by my property, and it's cursed to high hell!" I blinked. Cursed? That sounded right. "Can you show me on a map? I have business there. He looked at me like I was insane. "Hah! Business? With who?! A damned Devil?" I grinned. "Something like that." He looked at me, his eyes filled with fear, and then nodded, seemingly too afraid to refuse me. "Be at the gates tomorrow at sunrise, I will lead you myself."


	6. Bonus Chapter - Azen

Warning: This is a BONUS chapter, not important to the storyline. :) It shows Azen's POV after disappearing at the end of the chapter 4.

As soon as I was out of sight and sound, I punched a tree, and it hurt, which was nice for a change. I started sprinting for the portal to the demon realm, furious. I had given that human a chance to become somethimg more, something better, and for what? He had laughed in my face! I tried to calm down and think rationally, but I was failing.

I slowed to a stop and slid into the portal. I felt very hot for a few moments, and saw color all around. Mostly reds with hints of orange, yellow, and even bits of blue and purple. I loved the portals, always seeming comforting, and almost alive. I smiled, calming down. He _was_ a human after all, and they were told stories that made them hate and fear us, not that they didn't have a reason to. I had been watching him for a little over a month, and I was sure he'd make an excellent partner. I was determined to get him at any costs, even blackmail or tricking him into it.

I stretched as I was ejected from the portal. Portals always made you stiff, even if they _were_ comforting.I looked around the portal hub. A few demons here and there going about their business, nothing unusual. I walked outside to the home portals. The sky was the usual red, the sun the usual blue, and the ground was the usual sun-baked gray stone. I walked into the building that housed the portals and walked to #476 of section 8. I jumped into the portal. It was the same feeling and color, but much shorter, lasting only a few seconds. I stepped into my home and looked around. "Home sweet home" I muttered to myself, unable to resist a grin.

My home was a simple 4-room underground base. It had a small sitting room and library combo, two bedrooms, and an extra room for any purpose. I was currently using it to store the remenents of old hobbies of mine. The second bedroom was empty, waiting for a human partner. I went to my room and pulled out a book about human minds and how to effect them. I read for a few hours, and then put my book away. I flicked the light off and pulled up the covers, falling asleep nearly instantly.

The next morning I woke up to a voice shouting in my head. I groaned and sat up. Damned peope invading my sleep. I grinned as I wondered what Aris would think about the fact that demons communicated mentally. The shouting in my head grew more annoying. "_What were you doing Azenvel! You promised to meet me yesterday! Then I heard you were in the human world, you bastard!_" I groaned again. I should've known better than to try to ignore my best friend, Erlas. _"Shut up Erlas! I was busy trying to get a human partner!" _I could practically hear the sneer in his thoughts. _"Finally! It took you long enough! Who is he? What's his name? Age? Personality?"_ I rolled my eyes. _"Well... I haven't quite gotten him yet."_ He didn't answer back. He was probably laughing too hard. Erlas could be quite a pain in the ass sometimes.

I slid out of bed onto the floor and sat for a minute. All I could do now was wait and hope that damned human Aris would come. I moved to my drawers and pulled on a fresh set of identical clothing, then threw my old ones down a chute. I walked through my home portal and set up a trap outside Erlas's home portal. I grinned, as soon as he stepped out of his house, he would be suspended by his feet from the ceiling. I walked off, feeling much more cheerful than before.


	7. Not All Demons are so Kind

I pulled on my satchel and left the small inn I had stayed at the last night. I walked down the main road, which I thought was rather beautiful in its own way. The road was cobbled with colorful marble stones, and there were bushes, trees, and flowers lining the edge of the cobbles. It was just before sunrise, so it was dark and there were very few people wandering around, who were mostly drunks or farmers. I stopped at the gates and sat on a bench fashioned out of a log to wait. I didn't have to wait long, however. The man from last night walked up quickly, carrying a satchel.

"Hello! Ready to go?" He smiled nervously. "Yes, demon-helper." I frowned. "My name is Aris, and I don't help demons." He relaxed a bit. "Alright, I apologize Aris." He walked off before I could reply. The trip was long and boring, we didn't talk much and most of the countryside was dull and uninteresting. When we finally arrived at the forest the bridge was located in, he just gave me directions and left for his property, unwilling to enter the forest.

I stepped into the forest. It was dark and uninviting, the trees too close together to provide much sunlight. I could hear nothing inside the forest, there was no birdsong or wind. It was very disturbing, and I could understand why people would think it was haunted. I took a deep breath and ventured farther into the woods, following the instruction I'd been given. It took me a few hours, but I'd finally found the bridge. It was a very unimpressive bridge, over a shallow, brushless, dry gully. It was very simply designed, made of plain wood and iron. The only thing remarkable about it was the dark blood-like stains all over the bridge, giving it a creepy feel. I wondered why he wanted to meet here.

I sat on a log near the bridge and ate a light lunch I had prepared the previous night, waiting for darkness. I was just finishing my lunch when I head footsteps on the rock in the gully. I froze. How had they gotten into the gully?! I had heard nobody! Maybe it was Azen! I walked over to say hello and froze. It wasn't Azen, it was a boy who looked around the same age, but he had pure white hair and red eyes. We stared at each other in surprise, and then he walked forward, sharp teeth bared in a feral grin. "Ah, what do we have here?" he purred menacingly, eyes narrowed. "Just a human passing through, demon!" He paused. "A cocky human at that! Why are you being so nonchalant about meeting the bane of your kind?" The demon seemed rather confused, and I hoped I could talk my way out of this.

"I'm what you could call a friend to another demon. His name is Azen, I am coming here to discuss becoming his partner!" He looked at me for a few minutes, and then smiled. "Oh, are you now? I might as well do Azen a favor and test you... " He looked at me happily. "I despise Azen. Today isn't a good day for you, human." I felt the color drain from my face. An enemy of Azen's. Damn. I tried to smile, and was halfway successful. I decided to try and distract him. "Why do you hate him so much? He seems like an okay guy to me." The demon narrowed his eyes, and then shrugged. "He killed my best friend." I stared at him. "He killed... I see... He deserves your hatred, then. So are you still planning to kill me?"

The demon laughed harshly, and then looked at me with an evil look in his eye. It somehow was more chilling than when Azen did it. I felt a shiver run down my spine, even though it was a warm summer night. "Of course I wouldn't kill you, what'd be the point? Azen would only be angry and sad for a while, then he'd get on with life. If I kept you as a pet though, it'd be much more effective and fun!" I flinched as that terrible grin came back. A pet?! I shuddered, I didn't want to know that that would mean for me. Then the demon lept towards me.


	8. As the Moon Rises

A few moments later, I was pinned to a tree, his claws digging into my skin. I twisted and struggled, trying to get him off of me. It wasn't working, he was much too strong. He lifted a hand and hit me hard on the side of the head. I slumped against the tree, dazed and suddenly feeling weak. He released me and I slid to the ground, still feeling dazed. He kicked me in the side, hard, and I heard something crack. I groaned In pain and laid there, unwilling to move. I heard him move closer, and tried to sit up. A shooting pain went through my side, but I was able to sit up and lean against the tree. I looked up and saw him grinning at me.

"Will he be here soon?" I paused. "What? I think so, why?" I figured my best way of keeping myself unharmed would be to keep him talking. "I think we are just going to wait for him here, so sit tight." He started rummaging through his small bag, and I heard metal clinking against metal. He pulled out a long chain and fastened the end around the tree I was sitting by. I froze, and tried to scramble up. Was he really going to do this?! I felt the pain in the side and slid back down, the pain obvious on my face. I looked up again and saw him smirking at me. "What's so funny?" I asked, annoyed. "Nothing, I just love that look of agony!" I paled. He was a psychopath.

He moved down before I could react and attached the chain around my neck. I felt heat rise to my face. I wasn't a pet! What the hell did he think he was doing! I tried to move, but there wasn't enough slack to move more than a foot from the tree. I was stuck. This bastard! I glared at him, and he just sat there smirking, looking at the bridge. What was special about that bridge anyways? I sighed and tried to get comfortable. As the moon rose, the demon started getting more impatient. When footsteps were finally heard in the valley, he smiled and walked over.

I saw Azen walk up and freeze as he saw the white-haired demon. He quickly looked around and as he saw me, his eyes narrowed. I gave a little wave. "Hey!" I called out. He looked at the demon. "What do you think you're doing, Reyvis?" The white-haired demon gave a maniacal grin. "Whatever I want, is that an issue with you?" Azen glared at him. "Yes its an issue! You could see full well that he was marked by me!" I narrowed my eyes. I was marked by him? I quickly examined myself, but found nothing. What was he talking about? The white-haired demon, Reyvis, laughed. "Of course I saw! I just decided to ignore it. He quickly moved back to stand beside me. I used the opportunity to stick out my foot and trip him. He must not have been expecting it, because he fell like a stone into water.

I saw Azen grin and move forward, placing a foot on Reyvis's chest. "Nice job Aris." I shrugged. "He's just an idiot. Mind telling me what the hell you mean by you marking me? Oh, and these chains off would be nice too. Why the hell did you ask me to meet at such a dangerous place?!" He looked at me for a moment and sighed. He bent down and started tying the struggling snowy-haired demon up. "I will explain that to you later. Come on, we are going to my home." He left the demon there, unchained me, and then started pulling me towards the bridge. "Where are we going?" I asked. "Its just a bridge!" he turned and looked at me. "No, its a portal to the demon realm. Come on, human." I painfully walked to the bridge, and then slid by him under it. We walked in the gully to the other side of the bridge and then he pressed his hand against the rock under it. A spot of dim light appeared, which grew into a whirling mass of red and black. I stared into it, mesmerized by the colors. Then I was pulled in.


	9. Aris-World Class Interior Designer

I felt warm. Very warm. Colors swam around me, making me feel dizzy. Colors of a fading sunset, colors of fading embers. I saw deep reds, dark oranges, and mixes and swirls of blue and purple. Was I in a sunset? I'd like that. Then I hit the ground, hard. My knees buckled and I fell to the floor, my broken rib in agony. I winced and tried to get up; why was I so stiff? Azen looked at me, confused. "Are you hurt?" I rolled my eyes. "No, I'm down here for fun. Yes I'm hurt! I think he broke a rib." His eyes flashed to the portal, filled with fury. He looked back at me and the anger was gone. "I will take care of him later. Lets get going." I shuddered as I thought what that might mean for the snowy-haired bastard.

I limped along a small dirt path, looking around curiously. The sky was a deep red, swirling with high orange clouds and dust. The sun was a light blue and almost white, and it was much hotter than summer at home in the woods. The ground was a gray-black rock covered in gray dust that swirled in the wind, sometimes leaving patches of rock bare. In the distance, I could see tall black shapes, which I assumed were mountains. It was a thoroughly miserable place, and I wondered why they chose to live here. How did they survive the heat? I was already sweating profusely, and feeling rather faint.

I saw a demon in the distance. As he walked closer, I could see that he had blood-red eyes, just like Azen and Reyvis. His hair was a gray-black, and his skin was pale. How did they stay so pale in this heat? I heard a noise in the distance, and the demon rolled his eyes and turned around smiling. Somebody was sprinting up the road, faster than I thought was possible. "Wait up!" the figure called. The demon waited, tapping his foot. I would've thought he was annoyed if it weren't for the smile on his face. The person was close enough to see now. He had blue eyes with red rims around the edge of the pupil. I stared at him, surprised. He was much different than other demons I'd seen. His blue red-rimmed eyed and light brown hair with slightly more tan skin made me wonder if he was actually a demon.

I turned to Azen. "Is that a demon?" He glanced at me and grinned. "No, that's a demon's human partner. He turned to the demon and smiled. The demon smiled back and waved. "Hey Azen, did you finally get a helper?" The demons partner punched the demon playfully. "Ah, sorry. I meant a partner!" They walked off, talking in low tones. I watched them walk off, confused. "They're a bit strange." I muttered. Azen grinned at me. "No, they're quite normal. Demons usually hate humans, but once they become a demon's partner, it proves that they were better than normal humans because they survived the changing process."

"Survived...?" I asked hesitantly. "Yeah! I'm sure you'll live though. Mostly sure, at least!" I rolled my eyes. This was just sounding _better _and _better_. I noticed that we were nearly to the building we were heading to. It was huge, many times bigger than the library. It was made out of dull black rock similar to the ground beneath our feet. It had intricate designs in strange patterns wrapping around the building, painted in reds and purples. As we walked into the building, I noticed that there were quite a few demons walking around, many with human partners walking beside them. The demons were all rather tall, pale, and had red eyes, but other than that, they were all different. I saw one with dark green hair, two with blue, and one with hair the color of the blood-red eyes they all had.

I followed Azen to a slab of rock with words in a strange language on it. "What does that say?" I asked, pointing the the weird symbols. "Those are numbers. This is the portal to my home." He said, slightly distracted. He pressed his hand to the rock and another portal opened. I opened my mouth to ask another question, but he pushed me through before I could say anything. I fell through those beautiful fiery colors of the sunset again, but for a shorter amount of time. I hit the floor in a small room and looked around.

The room was rather cozy and nice. The carpet was soft and black, the walls were blood-red, but covered in bookshelves so you couldn't see much of it. There were a few paintings here and there, some of objects, some abstract. There was a couch and a few chairs around the room. I noticed there were many blue-flamed candles, but no windows. It was still warm, but much cooler than outside. It felt nice compared to the unbearable heat outside. There were three doorways. One had no door and was open, and there were two closed doors. Azen hadn't come through yet, so I decided to explore a bit.

I walked to the open doorway and peeked in. It had gray-white carpet and gray walls. There were closed-off bins everywhere, stacked against walls and all over the floor. I noticed something strange about the walls, so I took a hesitant step inside to examine them. I walked to the left wall and noticed the thin lines in between panels. What could this be? In the middle of every panel there was a small hole angled downwards. I stuck a finger in and pulled. The panel popped open and was hollow. Drawers!

I looked at the contents of the drawer. It was filled with little tubes of paint bottles, some filled, some empty. I stood there, confused. Why would he have paint bottles? That was definitely not what I had been expecting! I shut the drawer, walked to another drawer, and opened it. Jars? I picked up a jar and examined the contents. The only thing I could see was a swirl of what looked like fog. What the hell? I picked up another jar. It had the same thing, the foggy stuff was just a bit darker. As I was picking up a third, I realized what they were. Human souls.

I panicked and shut the drawer quickly. I backed up into the main room and sat down, wishing I hadn't seen that. I tried to calm down, after all, I was going to become a demon's partner. I wasn't sure, but I might have to _eat_ souls, so I needed to learn to not freak out every time I saw a human soul. I walked over to the left closed door and opened it. I saw the same black carpet and red walls, but there was more furniture. There was a dark brown dresser, nightstand, chair, and rug. A small bed was against the back corner. The bed had a dark brown wooden frame like the rest of the furniture, but the sheets and blanket were a rich midnight blue. It was Azen's room.

I quickly shut the door and opened the door directly to the right of that one. It had black carpet and red walls, but was quite different other than that. The floor was strewn with unassembled bits of unpainted furniture, and there were rolls of fabric leaning against the wall. I figured this was going to be my room. I peeked behind my shoulder. Still no Azen. I walked into the room and started assembling furniture. Soon enough, it was all assembled, but still unpainted. I walked back to the storage room and picked out some green paint that was very dark, nearly black. I painted all of the furniture, and then set it the way I wanted it. I thought it looked rather nice! I smiles to myself and walked to the main room to wait for Azen.


	10. It's Only a Dream, Right?

I had been sitting for about an hour before he finally appeared through the portal. I sprang up. "Azen! Finally! What the hell happened? Do you know how boring your home is?!" He looked at me tiredly. "Sorry about that. I had to go talk to a friend of mine, and then beat the hell out of Reyvis. Wait, how can my house be boring? I have so many books!" I sighed. "Which I can't read! I tried, they're in some weird language." He looked at me for a minute, and then his eyes lit up. "Oh, right! As soon as you accept the deal, you will be able to read it with no problem. You will also be able to use mental speech." I paused. Mental speech? "Azen, what the hell is that?" He glanced at me. "Mental speech? You can talk to people using your mind, and they can reply. No sound necessary."

I stared at him for a bit, and then shrugged. This was getting a little too confusing for me. Azen started walking towards his room, looking tired. "I'm going to bed, you go when you're ready." He paused. "Oh damn! I forgot to put your room together! I'm sorry Aris." I grinned at him. "Already done! I'll just head to bed now. I guess we do the partnership thing in the morning?" He opened the door to his room and looked back at me. "Yep!" Azen bared his teeth in a grin. "Sweet dreams!" He went inside and shut the door, leaving me sitting alone on the couch.

I sat there for a few minutes, a bit worried about the next day. I figured I couldn't change tomorrow's events by just sitting and thinking about it, so I went to my room and slipped into bed. It was surprisingly comfortable, and I fell asleep almost instantly.

I could tell I was dreaming. How else would my family all be standing in front of me? I was at our old home in the woods, and it was at my favorite time of day: sunset. My brother walked up to me. "Aris? Finally! We can start the celebration!" I grinned, lost in the dream. "A celebration? What for?" Avis laughed. "Our birthday of course! How could you forget?" I smiled. Of course! How could I forget such an important date? I felt a nagging feeling that I'd forgotten something, but I shook it off; our birthday was much more important! Brother and I sat down at the table, eager to begin the birthday dinner.

"Not so fast!" Mom said, smiling cheerfully, "Your friend is here!" I grinned as Azen walked in, as pale as ever. "Azen! You were able to make it!" He rolled his eyes, which was just like him. "Of course! I'm not a heathen who doesn't come to social events." I smirked at his use of the word heathen, which he seemed to try to incorporate into everyday conversation. "Sorry to say anything!" Mother walked out before Azen could reply, carrying our favorite food: Spiced potato slices. As we all began to eat, there was a knock at the door.

Da walked to the door and opened it. A second later, Da's head slid to the ground, severed from the rest of his body. Mom fainted immediately, and my twin and I jumped to our feet in shock. Reyvis stood there, a long, bloody knife in hand. Avis started backing away, looking scared. As I stepped forward, Reyvis moved forward quickly, catching Azen in the throat with his knife. As Azen started spitting up blood, Reyvis started stabbing him over and over in the chest and shoulders. After he finally let Azen's mutilated body slide to the ground, he turned towards Avis and started moving towards him. "No!" I shouted, trying to run to brother. The faster I tried to run, the slower I went. By the time I was halfway across the small room, Reyvis was already to my twin. He grabbed Avis by the throat and threw him hard against the wall, causing him to cry out in pain. I was almost there when brother was stabbed in the stomach. I hoped he would live, until Reyvis pulled the knife upwards, slicing a huge rent in Avis's body. Brother fell to the floor, which was soon covered in his blood. Reyvis turned to me, grinning maniacally. I felt my heart freeze as his knife went towards my throat. All I saw was blackness.

I woke up, sweating and gasping for breath. As I calmed down, I noticed Azen sitting in a chair a few feet away from my bed. "W...Why are you there?" I asked, still a bit shaken from the nightmare. "I heard you screaming and came in. I didn't think you'd have the dream this quickly..." I stared at him, confused. "What dream? A nightmare?" He gave a small smile. "When humans become a demon's partner, they acquire the ability to take on another form at will. The dream is supposed to give you a hint of what you may become."

I sighed, "I don't know about that. All I saw was Avis, Mom, Da, you, that bastard Reyvis, and of course, myself!" He narrowed his eyes at me, thinking. After a minute, his eyes widened. "You said you saw yourself. Did you really see yourself?" I paused. "Yes, there was a mirror, and I..." He grinned triumphantly. "And you..?" I guess he saw the color drain from my face, because he looked a little worried. "Are you okay? What did you look like?" I looked up at him. "I was very tall, much taller than you. I wasn't just pale, I was as white as fresh snow. I had no face or hair, my head was completely smooth." My voice started shaking as I saw Azen start getting paler as well. "And I had multiple black tentacles growing from my back."

Azen looked at me, eyes wide. "You have no idea what this means, do you?!" I glared at him. "Of course not! I'm freaking the hell out! Please enlighten me!" I saw a grin spread slowly across his face. "That means you will be one of the most powerful demon-helpers in existence."


	11. Blood and Ash

Sorry for the wait guys! Spring break is over, so while I will try to update daily, I will miss a few days here and there! To make up for the nearly two-day wait, here is an extra-long chapter! Thanks for being such loyal people! I appriciate each and every one of you! -Kasimyr

I grinned back. "Nice one, Azen. I could never be that powerful, let alone that... thing." I shuddered. I did not want to ever become that faceless creature. It had to be a joke, it just had to. He looked at me, still happy. "It's not a joke, Aris! It's real! You are one of the most powerful kinds! Would you like me to show you?" He walked over to a bookshelf by a chair and slid out a book. It was about as thick as my thumb, and bound in blue-stained leather. He handed the book to me, and I flipped it open to the first page. I couldn't understand a thing on it. "Azen, I can't read it, remember?" He smacked his head with his hand. "Oh yes! I forgot! We need to make the bond. Come on then!"

We walked to the couch and sat down, facing each other. "So how does this work?" I asked, rather scared. In answer, he pulled a special-looking knife from a drawer in the table next to him and grinned at me. "Hold out your arm!" He said cheerfully. I scooted away a bit. "Hell no!" He rolled his eyes with a smile. "Fine, I will go first." He slowly cut downwards right below his wrist until there was a three-inch slice in his skin. He pulled out a red piece of fabric and soaked the blood up with it. "Your turn!" He smirked at me. I hesitated, and then stuck out my arm. Why not? He made the cut more quickly than he had done it with himself, and it was soon over. It hadn't hurt as much as I'd expected!

After he had soaked up my blood with the red fabric, he lit it on fire. I watched the colors dance around in the flames. Reds, yellows, oranges, even a hint of blue at the center of the fire. As I watched the flames dwindle to a few glowing embers, I started wondering why I was so immersed in watching fire. Was it because my parents had died in a fire? Was it because it looked like the sunsets I loved so much? I just didn't didn't know. Azen shook me out of my thoughts by pulling out a weird... something. It looked like a knife with a hollow blade of glass, but the hilt was straight, and it had no guard. The blade was short, and it went down to such a tiny point it was like a needle.

Azen gathered together the ashes and jammed them into the hollow blade of the knife. He pulled a few things out of the drawer and mixed them together, and then put them into blade as well. He shook it around, and then set the knife over a small fire. "This is really complicated!" I muttered to myself, utterly confused. "Not really, if you understand it!" He said, grinning. I looked at him, eyes narrowed. "And do you understand it?" He paused. "Not at all." I smirked. "That's what I thought." He glared at me for a minute, and then looked back at the flames. I flinched, the flames had turned blue and green! I wondered how the knife wasn't melting, the material inside the blade had!

Azen pulled out the knife with his bare hands. "I'm guessing heat doesn't bother you?" I asked, already knowing the answer. "Obviously not." He replied back, distracted. "Alright," He said, holding the blade. "Aris, what is your last name?" I paused, my last name? Why did he need that? For some sort of ceremony? "Akers. I am Aris Akers." I grinned. "My parents loved the letter A, in case you haven't noticed." He rolled his eyes. "Aris Akers, do you accept to become my, Azenvel Renwis's, partner?" I couldn't help but smirk at his name, which was the weirdest name I had ever heard. "I accept." I replied back, unsure of what exactly to say. He nodded slightly, so I assumed I was right.

He pulled me closer with surprising strength and lifted my left sleeve up. He pressed the tip of the needle-like blade to my shoulder and started cutting. It was a terrible, searing pain, and it hurt like nothing I had ever felt before. He was only cutting my shoulder, but I felt like he was carving into my very being, and I had a terrible headache. I clenched my teeth and tried not to cry out, I wasn't going to start acting like a weakling now. A few moments later, it was over. "What the hell was that all about?! You could have at least warned me!" I growled, frustrated. He didn't reply. He held up the knife to his own shoulder and started cutting. He hid it much better than I had, but I could still see the pain in his eyes. About fifteen seconds later, he set the knife down and closed his eyes, seeming drained of energy.

A few seconds passed, and he wasn't getting up or opening his eyes. "Are you okay?" I asked hesitantly, a bit worried about him. He nodded slightly. "Yes, I'm fine." He said faintly. "They always told me it took a lot of energy, but I never thought it'd take this much. I'll be fine in a few minutes, go read a book or something." I paused, wondering if he was really okay. "Alright, tell me if you need anything, I guess." He said nothing, so I picked up the book he had handed me earlier and opened it.

I could read it! It looked as clear as English to me, which I thought was rather strange. The first few pages described the bonding process. It looked like it was over, which was good. That had not been fun in the slightest. I noticed it said that all demons had their own mark, which they carved into the shoulder of their partner and themselves. I looked at my shoulder. There was a very dark gray mark on my arm, almost like a tattoo that I heard people in bad religions had to get. It was very intricate, and there were many lines. It was rather large, in a rough circle around two inches in diameter. I glanced over at Azen. His sleeve had dropped down to cover his shoulder, but I assumed it looked the same.

I continued reading through the book, but I couldn't understand most of it. I could read it just fine, but it was terribly confusing. I flipped through It until I reached the possible forms of demon partners. There were hundreds of them, all with detailed pictures and descriptions and abilities. I looked through all of them, but I couldn't find the one I supposedly was supposed to be able to turn into. At least, until I turned to the "Legendary" section. I found the profile there, it took up a whole page, unlike most of the others, which had taken one-third of a page each. It had a chillingly accurate picture and description, which frightened me. I quickly read the abilities. There were quite a few of them, but the most notable were the tentacles.

The tentacles were made of living shadow. They could suck the souls out of humans, they could thin and go down a human's throat to grab their heart. They could hang a human by their feet for hours until they passed out. They could pull me up, or support many tons of weight. The abilities made me shiver. They hinted a lot at not just taking the souls of humans, but also "playing" with humans for entertainment. I glanced at the small section at the bottom which stated how many of the kind there were. I was only the second one to gain this terrible form. I set down the book, disgusted. What a damned honor that was.

There was a movement next to me, and I looked up. I saw Azen grinning at me, still looking rather tired. "So, what do you think? Did you find your form?" I paused, unsure of how to reply. "I found it. It was a bit... much, I think." He frowned. "A bit much? It's absolutely incredible! Even though you are still technically weaker than a demon, using that form, you might even be able to rough up somebody like Reyvis!" I felt a grin spread across my face, this was starting to sound much better! There was only one thing wrong. I didn't _feel_ any different at all! How was I even supposed to take this form? "Azen, why don't I feel any different? I thought you said it'd make me stronger and faster?" He smiled. "It takes effect after you take your form for the first time."

I sighed. "How do I do that?" He paused, and a confused look flashed across his face. "I actually have no idea. Let me try to find out!" I groaned. Wonderful. Azen walked to another bookshelf and pulled out a book. He flipped through it, frowned, and then slid it back into the shelf. He repeated that a few more times with other various books before finally smiling. "Excellent!" He said happily. "It says here that you need to concentrate on the form and... er... that should be it." I frowned, "Alright." I sat on the couch and started concentrating. Nothing was happening, except me getting tired. "I'm a bit sleepy, can we work on this tomorrow?" Azen nodded and went to bed without a word, exhausted. I went into my room and slipped into bed, hoping I wouldn't have another nightmare.


	12. The One-Eyed Herbalist

I woke up the next day, smiling. If I had ended up having a nightmare, I didn't remember it! I sat up and stretched, feeling very satisfied. I slid out of bed and noticed clothes sitting on my chair, Azen must have put them there while I slept! I lifted the clothing and examined it, curious. There were gray trousers like Azen's, a black shirt with Azen's mark on the left shoulder in hard-to-see dark gray, gray and black shoes that looked like they were made for traveling and fighting, socks that were a thick black wool-like material, and were very soft. The last piece was a hooded black traveling cloak nearly exactly like the one Azen had, the only difference was that the inside material was a dark blue instead of dark red. The clothes were all surprisingly soft and lightweight, and I was glad to put them on.

I walked to the main room to find Azen, but couldn't seem to find him. I knocked on his door and checked the storage room, but there was still no sign of him! I went to the slab or rock on the wall where the portal usually appeared and examined it. It was blank, gray, and lifeless, just like usual. How did he turn it into a portal? He had always just placed his hand on it, flat, palm down. I shrugged and placed my hand down like I'd seen Azen do it. Nothing happened, so I took my hand off and sat by the stone, waiting for Azen. You'd think the bastard would at least leave a note!

I sat for about half an hour before getting terribly bored. I started pacing around, both angry and worried. What if he had gotten attacked? What if he needed my help? I decided to try the portal again. This time, I decided to concentrate on opening it instead of just dumbly placing my hand on it. I set my hand on the stone again and shut my eyes. I thought about the fiery colors of the portal, the warm, floating feeling of going through one. A few moments passed, and I heard a small _whoosh_. I opened by eyes and saw a swirling mass of color. I grinned, I was learning to survive in this strange world!

I paused for a minute. What if he was on his way back and saw that I was gone? What if I saw that white-haired bastard again? What could I do all alone in the demon realm? I sighed. It was just like what Da had always said. The best way to learn is to throw yourself into it! I was just about to leap into the portal when I realized I didn't have a weapon! I sprinted to the storage room and ruffled around some boxes. I found a long knife, jammed it into my belt, and leaped into the portal. I tumbled through the color, swirling through the pleasant warmth and soft water-like feel. I landed hard on my feet, nearly going to my knees. I looked around, exited that I had finally made it here alone.

I noticed that the unbearable heat I had felt yesterday now seemed like a pleasant spring morning. Was the newly found heat resistance a part of the bonding? I couldn't think of any other reason for it! I looked around again for Azen, but there was no sign of him. There were a few demons here and there bustling about, but that was it, so I started heading south, unsure of where exactly to go. After about two hours of traveling on a dusty path, I reached what looked like a market. There were people everywhere, crowding both permanent stone shops and collapsible market stalls! I walked around, wide-eyed. It was incredible!

I wandered into a small shop made of reddish stone and looked around. It seemed to be a herbalist's shop, the walls were covered in many shelves of a black wood that held hundreds of bags, bottles, and vials of herbs and strange liquids. One section seemed to be dedicated to yellow-white bandages, empty medicine bags, and vials. The shop had a nice smell, and was quite cozy. I started and whirled around as a hand touched my shoulder. I blinked, I had never before reacted that quickly! I focused on the demon in front of me. He was tall with light red hair, almost pink. He had a gruff expression, but his one eye seemed to twinkle with hidden laughter. His right eye was covered by a black fabric which tied around his head.

The demon looked down at me. "Hello, I am the owner of this shop. What is a little half-human doing out here all alone?" I frowned. "I'm Aris, Azen's partner. I'm out here alone because he left for a bit, and I was curious about the demon's world!" The demon laughed. It was a happy and lively sound, much different than I'd expected from him! "I like you Aris, you aren't a damned weakling human, are you? You have spirit! You fit in well here. Take this!" He handed me a vial of some strange liquid, and I took it hesitantly. "I don't have any mon-" He cut me off. "I'm well aware! Just take it, it doesn't cost me anything to make that. Just promise to stop by if you need healing supplies!" He smiled at me, and I pocketed the vial. "So, are there many demon towns like this? I'm afraid I don't know much, I've only been here two and-a-half days!" The demon walked to a back room and came back with a map.

He unfolded the large map and laid it out. I noticed with surprise that it looked a bit like a map of our- the human- world. Some things were he wrong shape though, and sized differently! "Whoops." The demon muttered to himself. He flipped the map over and I saw a map I'd never seen before. It had three continents of the color gray, and the surrounding oceans were colored red. One continent was huge compared to the other two, and was a completely irregular shape. The two other continents were about the same size, one a little bigger than the other, and both were perfect circles. There were little dots here and there on the continents, all with names. I assumed those were the towns. The largest dot was in the left of the large continent, and was named Izelradir.

I examined the map, filled with curiosity. "Why are the oceans red? Why are those continents perfect circles? What is Izelradir? Wh-" He cut me off again, clapping a hand over my mouth. "You are a curious little one, aren't you?" I moved his hand a side a bit. "Little one? You don't seem very old..." He smiled at me. "No, you're right, I'm only a few thousand years old." I felt the blood drain from my face. "Few... thousand?" He nodded. "Yes, and to answer your questions, the oceans are red because they aren't water, its Pheal. Humans don't have it in their realm, but our oceans are made of it here. It is thicker than water, and quite cold compared to the air. We do not know why the continents are perfect circles, but the huge volcanoes in the center of both islands most likely are the cause, at least partially. Izelradir? That is the capital of our realm. It is to the north of here."

I paused. To the north? I had come from the north! Was that barren place the capital? I had only gone one way, maybe there was more to it in other directions! I smiled. "Thank you, sir! I appreciate all of your kindness!" The man smiled back. "Its no problem, Aris. It can get boring here all alone!" I frowned. "You don't have a wife or partner?" He gave me a puzzled look. "Wife?" I reddened. "Nothing, I'm sorry, must be a human thing!" I smiled hastily. "No partner then?" He shook his head. "Never needed anyone, I don't intend to start now!" I paused, and nodded slowly. Every person had their own path, as Da had said.

"I'd better start getting back, thank you for everything!" He nodded, and then looked at me. "How far do you have to go?" I thought for a minute. "Two hours northwards." He gave me a slightly worried look. "Do you have a weapon?" He asked. "Yes, I have a knife." I replied, a bit uneasy. "Alright, just be careful. Some demons aren't a big fan of humans, even demi-humans like yourself. You may be almost fully demon, but one drop of human blood makes you their enemy, or if you're unlucky, a plaything. Travel carefully." I nodded solemnly, and started walking north with one last wave at the ancient demon.


	13. Unexpected Beauty

I watched the dull, lifeless path carefully. The herbalist had seemed to be trustworthy, and I could easily believe a human would be attacked, so I down the northwards road quickly. I looked up at the sky and noticed the big blue-white sun sinking into the horizon. I recoiled, shocked. The sunset wasn't the right colors! I saw blues, greens, purples, and there was no sign of the beautiful, soft, fiery reds, oranges, and delicate yellows. I nearly started crying right there, but held it back. I shouldn't have cared so much about the colors of the sunset, but I did. As I approached the big buildings that housed the portals, I stopped in my tracks, awed.

The mountains in the distance weren't made of rock like I'd assumed. They were something weird, opaque and solid, but could transform and reflect light! They shimmered with any color you could imagine, every second that passed the colors changed, shining with light and beauty. I stood for minutes staring at those strange formations in the distance, in shock. When I had first arrived in this weird realm, I had thought of it as bleak and lifeless with all of its dust and rock, but the more I learned and the longer I stayed, I was staring to realize that this realm was incredibly diverse and beautiful, a world with as much history, culture, and beauty as ours. I had never expected something this incredible where demon's lived, but I was also starting to learn that while demon's could be cruel, hateful creatures, especially to humans, they had personalities as diverse as the realm itself, and it was incredible.

I stared for a few more minutes until the sunset faded, and the sky and mountains grew dark. The sky grew more and more black, and soon stars started appearing here and there, completely different patterns and even colors! There were red and blue and yellow stars along with the white ones! Then the moons rose. All three of them. One was blue and about the same size as the human realm's moon. The other two were white and a bit bigger, one was close to the blue one, the other was some distance from the other two. I was about to continue walking when something else rose into the night sky. It was huge, tan with huge faint rings. It moved quickly across the sky, fast enough for me to be able to see it move! Was it a planet? It was just so _big_!

I watched the night sky for other celestial bodies to appear, but nothing did, so I walked quickly to the portal-buildings. When I arrived at the portal-stone that connected to Azen's home, I pressed my hand against it, palm down, and started concentrating. I heard the little _whoosh, _so I opened my eyes and walked inside. I saw the beautiful fiery colors and felt the softness, and then I landed. I looked up and saw Azen glaring at me. "What the hell do you think you were doing?!" He asked, furious. I looked down. "You left, and I was bored. I walked to a market south of here, talked to a herbalist, and walked back. I saw a lot of amazing things today."

He stared at me, incredulous. "You walked all that way? Do you know how dangerous it is to be out alone for a _Kerilin_?!" I paused. "A what?" He rolled his eyes. "A Demon-helper." I smiled. "I like that better, it sounds less... servant-like." He stared at me, exasperated. "Do you have any idea what would've happened to you if you were caught?! You'd be dead... if you were lucky. They have a habit of _taking _them. Do you want to know what happens if you're taken?!" I looked down again, a bit scared by his anger. "No Azen, I'm sorry..." He rolled his eyes. "Just don't do it again, Aris. I brought you to this world, so I'm responsible for your well-being. I'm not really too angry, just worried." I nodded. "Alright... I won't do that again, if you promise to not just disappear like that again! I was worried too! There are a ton of bastards here apparently."

Azen glared at me for a minute before walking to his room, silent. I stared sadly at the door, not regretting my small journey, but wishing it hadn't made him this worried and angry. I walked to the storage room and ruffled through drawers and bins, curious and bored. I eventually found blank canvases, paint, and paintbrushes. I decided to try my hand at painting. That was the day I learned I couldn't even paint a straight line successfully. After four terrible paintings, I hid the canvases out of shame. I looked at some of Azen's paintings, which were quite good, especially if you compared them to my terrible failures at scenes from my childhood.

As I looked through his many paintings, a few stood out to me. There was one of a soft, blue, crystalline lake surrounded by trees in autumn, there were birds in the lake, which I identified as Herons. Another painting I noticed was of a huge red and black palace with a wide moat filled with red liquid. It was inredibly detailed and beautiful, and I found myself staring at it for minutes. My favorite painting was the smallest one. It was a square about 30x30 centimeters, and was an incredibly realistic imitation of the distant mountains at sunset. I could almost see the shimmering and color changes and changing beauties. I set down the other two and carried the last one to my room. I hung it over my bed and went to sleep, thinking about the events of the long day.


	14. Of Pain and Insanity

The next day, I woke up happy. I didn't know why I was feeling so happy and optimistic, but I did! I dressed for the day, and then walked out to greet Azen. He was sitting on the couch by a pile of books, reading through them. "Good morning Azen!" I said, flopping onto the couch by him, disturbing his pile. He raised an eyebrow at me. "Cheerful this morning, aren't you?" I nodded. "Yes! What are we going to do today? Can we go look for my brother?" I felt my cheer sliding away, being replaced by dread. "I'm worried about him." Azen looked at me for a moment, and then nodded. "We can go look for him."

I hugged Azen, who rolled his eyes and got to his feet. I ran to my room and retrieved the knife I had used the previous day, and then ran back, exited. We walked to the portal and Azen stepped up. He placed his hand on it and it instantly popped to life. He must have been so used to it he didn't even have to think about it! I stepped through behind Azen and was immersed in the colorful warmth. We appeared at the home-portals building and starting walking to the smaller building about one-hundred meters away that housed the inter-realm portal. We walked in and the portal was already open. Was it permanently open? I shrugged and walked through first, ignoring Azen's muttered _humph_.

We appeared in the rocky gully below Tearswood bridge, feeling stiff. I wondered why I felt stiff, was it only the inter-realm portal where that happened? I shook off my thoughts and started running after Azen, who was already a half-dozen meters ahead. "Hey! Wait up!" I called out. As he turned to look at me, I had a flashback of the first time I was walking towards the home-portals building and had seen the demon and his _Kerilin, _his human helper. I grinned. I was already one of them, so quickly! I finally felt like I belonged somewhere! I'd never felt comfortable being a blacksmith, a farmer, a cook... This, however, felt perfect. I belonged as a _Kerilin. _

We started walking in the direction Azen was sure brother was, talking and laughing the whole way. After a few hours, Azen noticed something in the distance. He started running forward, curious. I wasn't as fast as him, and was quickly left behind. I started running after him, but something flew out of the bushes and tackled me, causing my head to hit the ground hard. It was a quiet attack, and Azen kept running towards whatever he thought looked interesting. I shook off the dizziness caused by my possible concussion and tried to get up or scream.

Before I could do anything, an arm tightened around my throat, cutting off my oxygen supply and my voice. I twisted and fought, but I just received another whack on the head for my efforts. I twisted to look at the person and paled. It was a demon, as much as I'd expected. Standing by him were two other demons who struck me as more powerful than the one who was currently strangling me. The less powerful demon was shorter and his hair was a rich blue color. He was frowning, and his eyes were dull and methodical. The two powerful looking ones were both tall with black hair and eyes shining with malice. They didn't look very similar besides height and hair color, but they had identical frightening grins. I shuddered. Three? Even if Azen was paying attention, we still didn't have much of a chance.

My vision was staring to go black from lack of oxygen when they finally released me. I sprawled into the dust, coughing. I noticed we were in the forest alongside the path, and Azen was yelling for me to get the hell out of the woods. I was about to call out when a demon kicked me in the side. I slammed into the tree, surprised by the force behind the kick. One of the more powerful demons walked up to me, pulled me up, gagged me, and tied my hands to a low branch above my head. I glared at the three demons in front of me, who were now ignoring me and talking amongst themselves.

I heard Azen start walking into a section of the forest to our left, his too-loud footsteps and unneeded shrubbery-destroying marking him as annoyed, worried, or both. The two black-haired demons looked up and grinned simultaneously. One walked over to me, the other one walked up silently behind Azen and pushed him hard to the ground. Azen must have not been expecting it, because his eyes went wide and he hit the ground hard. The demon put a foot on Azen's back, powerful enough to hold Azen to the ground. Azen glared up at the demons, confusion flashing in his eyes. I tried to assume a bored expression, and I wiggled my fingers in a wave.

Azen rolled his eyes, hiding a smile. "What the hell have you gotten yourself into?" I tried to respond, but was gagged, and all that came out was a muffled noise. One of the powerful demons stepped up. "Azen and his _Kerilin, _yes?" Azen sighed, "Yes, that's us. Why?" The demon smirked down at Azen. "You're the one who claims to have the _Seriarores_ helper, correct?" I raised an eyebrow as Azen nodded. He looked at me and read my expression immediately. "It translates to Slender-Being" I shrugged. Whatever, still didn't make too much sense. I supposed Seriarores was the name of the type, not an actual part of the language.

"Now, you see, we have one here." He motioned to the blue-haired person who I'd assumed was a demon. I cast a puzzled glance at him. His eyes were red, and humans weren't supposed to have blue hair! Did we become more and more like demons over time? I shook myself out of my thoughts and focused on the conversation. "That poor _Kerilin!" _Azen said, sounding sad. "What the hell do you do, beat him?" I glanced at the _Kerilin_. I hadn't noticed it earlier when he was attacking me, but he had quite a few bruises and cuts and never seemed to display much emotion.

The demon smirked at Azen. "They're here to do whatever we want, right? I get bored, and its his job." Azen glared at him. "Thats not true! They're partners, not slaves." The demon kicked Azen in the side, causing him to wince slightly. He started laughing. "If that is true, why do we have the ability to force them to do things? He looked at his _Kerilin_ and started concentrating. The _Kerilin_ pulled out a knife and held It to his own arm, still emotionless. "No! Don't make him..." Azen said hurriedly, looking sick. "You don't need to make a point, I already know, just stop." The demon smirked again, and the _Kerilin_ slipped the knife back into his belt. "What do you want?" Azen asked, looking a bit better now that the knife was put away. The demon grinned.

"I started a collection a few hundred years ago. I'm collecting the rarest and most powerful types! I already have the only other _Seriarores, _and I want the other!" Azen glared at him. "Never! Even if I'd let you, we already made the bond, how the hell would you take him? You can only have one bond!" The demon gave an insane smile. "Forbidden magic, Azen... I can and intend to use it. The only thing I have to do is break him first!" Azen started struggling a bit, looking furious. "Its forbidden for a reason! Look at you, you're insane!" The demon turned away from him, a crazy look in his eyes. He ungagged me and smiled. "What's your name?" I glared at him. "Aris, you bastard!"

I kicked him as hard as I could in the leg. He looked impassively at me. "Its hard to believe you are a _Seriarores, _Aris. Let's try to draw your other form out, shall we?" He untied me and retied me more securely, arms spread apart. He pulled out a knife and wiped the blood off, making me extremely nervous. It was completely black, blade and handle, except for the red, blue, and green gems adorning the guard. As soon as Azen saw it, he started trying to get free. The other demon bent down and tied Azen up, and then gagged him. He left Azen there and walked over to me, excitement and curiosity in his eyes. Azen glared at his back frustrated.

The demon finished wiping off the blade and held it to my arm. As he pressed it to my arm, even before a cut was made, I was flooded with a coldness. I shut my eyes tightly, filled with despair and terror. As the cut was made, it didn't hurt. It was just cold, so cold... I felt a strange consciousness rise up inside me, blocking out everything else. I couldn't even think, just feel the terrible cold. Then I felt the rage rise up inside me. Rage and hatred for these bastards that had just come out of nowhere to ruin our lives and stop me from saving brother. My brother... And then I heard a scream, and everything went a deep, cold black.


	15. Brother

I came into consciousness slowly, becoming more and more aware as time drew on. After time passed, whether it was minutes or hours, I opened my eyes. I looked around, my head still fuzzy. Where was I? The last thing I remembered, I had been with that bastard... I shuddered, why did that have to happen? They ruined everything... I looked around again, and noticed a strange smell. It was sweet and bitter, mixed with many different scents. I blinked as it all became clear. I was at the Herbalist's shop! Why was I there of all places?

I examined the room more closely. It wasn't the room I'd seen, so it must have been a back room! Who brought me here? Azen had been tied up, so it must have been one of the two bastards, but why? I noticed a throbbing ache In my arm and looked down. My arm was wrapped in bandages where I'd been cut by his black knife. I peeled away the bandages and saw a cut. There was something off about it though. It had been perfectly straight and methodical until the end of the cut, which was jagged and messed-up. I re-wrapped the bandages and stood up.

My knees were weak, but I made it to the door okay. I listened at the door and heard talking, so I opened it. I paused, a bit confused. Azen and the Herbalist were talking quietly, seeming very immersed in their conversation. They didn't notice me until I stepped into the room and closed the door. Azen walked over to me immediately. "Are you okay?" I nodded. "Yeah. What happened?" He paused, glancing at the Herbalist. "You don't remember?" I shook my head. Azen sighed and rubbed his temple. "You killed them, Aris. You changed into your other form and killed them. You lost control. The only one that lived was the _Kerilin, _who was injured. He is in there now." Azen pointed to a small room to the right of the one I'd been in.

"After you changed back into your normal form, you passed out. You were bleeding and injured, both of you, so I carried you two here." Azen gave me a troubled look. "That form was much stronger than expected, I couldn't control it, or even get into your mind. I am hoping it was because of the knife he used, and not what it is going to be like every time." I nodded thoughtfully. "So I transformed and it was a disaster? I knew it was a bit too much!" I sighed, the little victory was meaningless. I was more of a monster than Azen, I had killed three demons! I started, surprised at myself. Why was I more of a monster? He had killed countless humans! When had I started counting demon lives as more important than a human life? I was getting too demon-like.

The Herbalist stepped up and unwrapped the bandages. "It looks like it's healing well, you may go home now. Don't use the arm too much, though. We don't need infection or strain!" He applied fresh bandages and then pushed us out, seeming distracted and worried. I stared at the door for a moment, wondering why he needed us out so badly. I shrugged as Azen started walking north. Two hours later, the home-portal building was in sight. As we walked, the sun started to sink. "Azen?" I asked. "Can we go to the roof of the building? Please?" He looked at me for a minute, and then smiled. "I forget how new to this you are. Alright!" We climbed to the top, which was a few hundred feet high. As we sat down at the highest point, the mountains in the distance started processing the light.

I stared in fresh awe as the beautiful colors flashed and sparkled. I looked to the left to find Azen looking at the mountains, tears in his eyes. I sat there for a moment, unsure of what to do. Was it just the beauty? "Azen, are you okay?" I asked softly, worried a loud tone would startle him. He started anyways, seeming to just realize that he was crying. "I'm fine, just a bit... sentimental. This reminds me of when my mentor and I used to sit up here after training and watch the sky. He was the best mentor I could've ever had. He was smart and kind and patient..." Azen's voice started getting husky, and he stopped talking. I looked at him sadly. Mentor? I assumed it was like an apprenticeship. I paused. Speaking of apprenticeship, what did Azen do for a living? I pictured the paintings all over his house. Was he an artist? "Azen? I'm sorry to ask, but what did he train you for?"

Azen had seemed to have gotten under control, because there was no sign of a husky voice or tears. He seemed puzzled. "What do you mean?" I sighed softly. "Are you an artist? Or a blacksmith? A peddler?" Azen grinned. "Oh! I work for the Lord. I do whatever the hell I want as long as I do the occasional mission he gives me. As long as I do the missions, I get my little home for free! I also get a bit 0f money every week, and a supply of souls. I prefer to hunt my own souls though, the ones they give us are mass-produced." I smiled. "That sounds amazing! Wait, mass produced?" He gave a displeased look. "Yes. We need to eat, so we've captured an amount of humans and brought them here. Farm them for their souls." As I gave a shocked exclamation, he hushed me. "I don't approve of it myself, but think of the alternative. Thousands of demons coming to the human world and slaughtering mercilessly in large amounts. Only a few demons like me go to the human world, for adventure mostly."

I looked back at the fading sunset. "I guess it is better than the alternative." Azen nodded silently. The mountain's beauty faded with the strange sunset, and starts started appearing. A while later, the three moons rose into the sky, followed an hour later by the fast-moving, huge, tanned, ringed object in the sky. "What is that, Azen?" I asked, still curious. "Its a gaseous planet." Azen replied, distracted by the planet's movement. "Really?" I asked, surprised. "Is that what they look like up-close? I've only ever seen star-like dots. Its incredible!" Azen looked at me, amused. "If we wait long enough, another planet comes up, the color of the human sea. Its incredible." I smiled, exited.

"Can we wait to see it, Azen?" He nodded and laid back, watching the stars. I laid by him and a few hours later, a huge blue object came into the sky. It was many times bigger than the moons, but smaller than the tan planet. I stared at it in awe. It was all so beautiful... An hour later it was gone, and Azen and I went home. He fell asleep immediately, and I read for a few hours before falling asleep on the couch, sitting by a small pile of books.

The next morning I woke up very stiff. I sat up and stretched, careful to not knock over the candle. I sat and read a book until a messy-haired tired Azen walked out. "Morning." He said, sitting on the couch. "Good morning!" I replied, immersed in an interesting chapter about astronomy. He looked over. "Astronomy? I have a telescope you can use after we rescue your brother." I grinned at him, exited. "Really!? Thank you Azen!" I sprang up and grabbed my knife. "Lets go!" Azen glared at me until I sat down to wait for him to get ready. Twenty minutes later we were on the path.

We walked for days across dull and lifeless yellowed plains before reaching the bandit camp Azen had tracked down. We both stared in shock. There were destroyed bodies everywhere, lifeless and seeping blood into the ground. I started running around from body to body, panicked, looking for brother. I couldn't find him anywhere! Had he killed them?! I immediately dismissed the thought, brother would never kill anything. Where was brother then? I heard Azen call, "Over here!". I stared running towards his voice, scared.

There were huge dragging tracks leading into the forest, and the ground was littered with bright green leaves. Azen was examining the tracks, eyes narrow. "Ents" He said suddenly, standing up. "four or five Ents. The Bandits must have been cutting down their trees." I gave him a confused look. "Ents? What are Ents?" He smiled, teeth bared. "You've never heard of Ents? They're giant tree creatures, usually slow and kind, but when they anger, it is terrible. They are "Tree Herders", they protect trees." I nodded slowly, that made some sort of sense.

"They took him. Come on, lets go after him!" He raced off into the woods, me following quickly behind. After a half-hour of running, he stopped suddenly, and I had to stop before hitting him. I stood there, panting slightly. It had been a long run! "He is just a bit ahead." I nodded and we walked closer. I saw four huge trees, brother in the branches of one of them, sleeping. I was bout to race closer when Azen stopped me. The trees moved slowly closer. They weren't trees, they were Ents!

Azen stepped closer, smiling cautiously. He spoke with one of the Ents for a few minutes in a strange, gravelly language, and then one Ent set brother down gently. Azen nodded at me, so I ran to Avis's side and knelt down. I shook his shoulder gently, the Ents watching my every move. Avis slowly opened his eyes. "Brother..? Is it really you?" I nodded gently and bent down to hug him. After all of my hard work, after meeting demons, traveling to different realms, meeting all sorts of weird people, and seeing unimaginable and beautiful things, I had finally found my brother.


	16. Goodbye, But Not Forever

I sat by my brother listening intently to his story. A lot had happened to him, too. It wasn't quite as exotic as what I'd been through, but it was still incredible. That is his story to tell though, so I will not say anything about it. All that mattered was I had found my Brother. We walked together for many hours after that, talking and exchanging new information and our thoughts. "Aris, I need to tell you something." Brother said softly a few hours later while we were sitting in a glade. "What is it?" I replied, a bit worried. "Thank you for looking for me and offering for me to go with you, but... I want to stay with the Ents." I stared, dumbfounded.

"What?! You want to stay with these creatures?!" I cried out, unable to help myself. "At least they don't murder innocent people in cold blood." Brother said, voice icy. I flinched. "I'm sorry Avis, I just... I just missed you." Brother's gaze softened. "I missed you too, but your way of life just doesn't appeal to me. We always knew our paths would divide, so stop fighting it. You seem to love being with that demon. Me? I want to live under trees, swim in crystal-clear rivers, and help protect these beautiful forests. Just let me, brother. Please." I sat for a few minutes, silent. I knew he'd never be happy with me, and he had his perfect chance here, but I just didn't want to let him go.

"I won't fight it under one condition." I broke into a smile. "As long as you let me know your location when you move, so I can come visit you!" Brother smiled and hugged me. "Obviously!" We sat in a peaceful silence for another half-hour. "Avis?" I asked, suddenly curious. "How do you understand the Ents?" He paused. "What do you mean? It sounds like English to me! Do you not understand it?" I frowned. "It doesn't even seem like words to me, let alone English!" Brother looked at me, puzzled. "Thats very strange! I don't know!" I heard a noise above us and looked up. Azen was in the tree above! He jumped down and sat next to us. I noticed Avis moving back, distrustful. I sighed. "What the hell Azen? Were you really eavesdropping!? " He shrugged. "Kind of."

I glared at him, and he shrugged again. "By the way, the reason he can understand their language is because the Ents chose him. That is all I have to say!" Azen stood up and walked off, leaving us both confused. Avis glared at his fading figure. "I don't like him. He's a bit arrogant, isn't he?" I smiled. "Yeah, but he isn't all bad. He can be a good friend." Avis looked at me sadly. "Are you really okay with what he did to you? You're practically his slave! A murderer's slave!" I glared angrily at brother. "Its not like that!" I snapped. "He wouldn't ever do that. He could, but he doesn't. Get it? Partners. Not a damned slave!" He looked down, and I immediately felt bad.

"I'm sorry Aris, its just that he is a demon... a killer... and you're helping him! I don't understand it!" I sighed and looked down. "I sometimes wonder why I agreed. I went with him at first to save you, but I just kept getting more and more enthralled with everything. There is a whole other world with a whole other population! Its just incredible. I never have regretted it. Now I wouldn't leave if I could. Its just so amazing, Avis. Azen is a good friend of mine now. Its taken a lot of pain and effort to get where I am now, but I am so glad I did." Brother looked at me for a minute, and then smirked. "What?!" I asked, a bit flustered. "Thats a damn long speech for you, Aris. I think this might have changed you for the better. I'm happy for you!" He hugged me and then stood up and stretched his hand out. I grabbed his hand and he pulled me up.

Azen walked up a few minutes later. "Its time to go Aris, we have a mission to take care of! We have to assassinate some heathen." I rolled my eyes, why always that stupid word? I couldn't help but smile, how exiting! "Finally! This should be fun!" I turned to brother, "Good-bye Avis, I will come visit you soon!" He smiled. "Alright Aris. Have fun, I know I will!" We both hugged, and then Azen and I walked off, discussing methods of killing the "heathen". I turned and waved one last time, but brother was aleady gone. He had disappeared once again from my life, but this time I was happy. I knew I'd see him again, sooner or later.

Hey guys! This is the last chapter of Aris's story. I am planning to write another character's history soon, whether it is Avis's, Azen's, or even the Herbalist! I'm leaving which one comes first up to you guys! If nobody says anything, the default is Avis! I will eventually be doing all of these do to popular request, but I leave it up to you to choose the first! (Technically 2nd)

Second, I wanted to thank you guys for reading my story and leaving nice reviews! It makes me really happy that my first story has done so well! Thank you all so much! :) You amazing people keep me motivated to write! Be ready for the next chapter, whatever you choose!

-Kasimyr


	17. First Impressions

Hey guys! Only two people have voiced their opinions, and they both wanted Azen's history, so that is what I will do! On another note, for the people that want more of Aris's storyline, I have a new story that will be exclusively for that purpose! I will probably alternate updates. Enjoy! :)

-Kasimyr

Azen

The room was huge, seating about two-hundred people. There were exactly One-hundred and twenty-five children and one-hundred and twenty-five adult demons. The floor and walls were dull gray, giving it a bland and unwelcoming appearance. It was a part of a huge complex of buildings, a school. I had spent all ten years of my life in this school, sleeping in the dorms, eating in the cafeteria once a week, taking a variety of classes, some boring, some fun. Today was the day that I would finally leave the dull place and be assigned a mentor.

I sat impatiently as name after name was called, both exited and nervous. What if I was assigned to an abusive mentor? Or worse, an idiot! I scuffed my feet against the chair in front, earning me a glare from the raven-haired demon sitting in it. I grinned at him, and then I heard my name called. "Azenvel Renwis.". I stood up with a wink at the glaring demon and walked to the platform ahead. I stood on it by the ancient head instructor, examining all of my potential mentors. There was a huge variety, short and tall, pale and semi-tan, many hair colors, lots of old ones, a few young ones. None of them looked idiotic though, so I supposed I'd be alright.

The instructor squinted at the paper. "Your mentor will be..." The head instructor sighed and muttered "Him? Really?" I looked at him, confused. "Wha-" He cut me off my saying my mentor's name. "Seran Diarel" I watched the crowd eagerly, curious as to why the head instructor had reacted that way. I saw a young-looking energetic demon with bright red eyes and pure white hair step out and walk over. I stared at him, suddenly nervous. He was so... weird! His hair reminded me of my enemies. It was pure white, just like that classmate bastard's! I hoped he wouldn't be similar to him, or an idiot. "Hello!" He said, walking up to me. "Hello sir." I muttered back, suddenly shy.

As we walked out of the building and towards the gate, he turned to me. "So, Azenvel? That's a mouthful. I'm gonna call you Azen. Don't bother with all of the "Sir" stuff, got it? It annoys me. Call me Seran!" I paused. This was a really weird demon! "Yes si- Seran!" I replied, smiling hesitantly. "There we go! Are you ready to get out to the big, wide, amazing world?" I grinned, exited. "Yeah! Are the portals as amazing as they say?!" He ruffled my hair. "Why don't you find out yourself?" We walked through the gate and into the little building that housed the portal out of the school and onto the main continent.

I watched him jump into the portal and disappear. I hesitated for a moment, and then jumped in after him. I had read about portals in books, but it was nothing compared to the real thing! I was immersed in heat, and I felt like I was floating. I saw swirling fiery color around me, reds, yellows, and oranges. I saw occasional tiny flashes of blue and purple that broke up the swirling color and heat with a slight cool breeze. It felt like forever, but I knew it had only been a few moments until I slammed hard onto a stone floor. I pushed myself up to see an amused Seran looking at me, leaning against the wall. "Did you like it?" He asked, cheerful. I thought for a moment. "Its hard to describe, but yeah. I loved it!" He grinned. "I thought you might!"

We walked along a dusty path, heading towards a huge building in the distance, many times bigger than the largest building at the school. As we walked in, all I saw were huge flat stones propped against walls, row after row of them, many floors of just stones. "Is this the home-portal building?" I asked curiously. He grinned at me. "Yep! Come on!" We started walking down some stairs, into an underground floor. I saw a few signs warning people not to down without permission, under threat of dire punishment. I grew more and more nervous. According to some signs, this was a floor for only very important people, people who worked directly under the great Lord of Demons. I stepped down and blinked. More damn big rocks.

The stones were bigger and a shiny black, not too much different from the other stones. There was a rough gray carpet under our feet instead of rough gray stone, so that was different. Seran stepped close to portal #3 and pressed his hand on it. A portal opened, and we walked through. I felt the warmth and saw the colors, but it was a shorter trip. We landed in a non-regulation size and shape room. It was a circle. It had a high dome roof covered in stars, planets, and moons. I looked closely, memerized, and noticed them moving slowly. It was beautiful. I took a step and noticed the floor was unusually smooth.

I looked down and paused, unmoving. A huge circle of clear glass was the only thing between me and a 20-meter drop into a... a garden. Why the hell did he have a garden under his main room?! He had to be crazy! This wasn't allowed! Major changes had to be approved, and this would never go through! I started to get nervous and backed up into a doorway with a carpeted normal floor. Seran walked towards me, grinning. "It will hold you!" He walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a big hammer. He started whacking the glass, still grinning. He put the hammer back into the cabinet and turned to me. "See?" I stepped out hesitantly. "This is crazy! How did you do this?" I knew it was wrong, but I found myself entranced by the beauty of the stars and garden.

He noticed immediately. "Do you like it? My home is my pride and joy! I made it all myself! Would you like to see your room?" I looked at him for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes please, Seran!" I wouldn't admit it, but I was exited! I had always been told that demon life was full of order and regulation, but this guy was different! Crazy or not, what he had created was incredible! He went down a short hall and motioned to two doors. "The left one is mine, please do not enter without permission! The one on the right is yours. No permission needed!" He grinned and opened the room to my door. I peeked in and froze.

I glanced at Seran and then back to my room. This was very strange! My walls were red and the carpet black. The bed was brown and red, but besides that, it wasn't regulation at all! Everything was pure white, except for stacks of books and piles of paintbrushes and paint buckets. I was confused for a moment, and then it dawned on me. He was letting me design my own room! This was incredible! I turned to thank him, but he was gone. I paused, and then went inside my room, exited and ready to paint.

I examined the paint choices and furniture, making a plan in my mind. I dipped the paintbrush into a bucket and started painting. Soon enough, the furniture was all dark brown with a light varnish. It looked amazing! I started organizing things into drawers and noticed he had somehow known my interests! He had picked out a whole lot of books on subjects I was interested in, and there were a ton of blank canvasses to paint on! I put the books on a shelf and set the canvasses gently into a drawer with all the paint. I examined the white ceiling. I wasn't sure what to put there quite yet, so I left it alone.

I examined my room one last time before stepping out into the hallway. I walked out into the huge main room and looked around. There were three other hallways at right angles to the hall I had been in. I walked into one at random and paused before the door. What if I got into trouble? I shrugged and steeled myself. He hadn't said anything about it being forbidden to explore! I opened the door and saw a large library dimly lit by candles. It was overstuffed, some books were in haphazard piles by the shelves, some were laying open on tables, and some were sitting on top of shelves laying partially off. It seemed like a wonderful place!

I shut the door, promising to explore it more later. I walked into another door and found a storage room. I shrugged and continued on, not wanting to see his personal items. I opened a smaller door and saw a very long ladder going down. Was it into the garden? I found myself wanting to see it up close, so I took a deep breath and started walking down the ladder, rung by rung. A few minutes later I finally reached the bottom. I opened a little door at the bottom and stared in awe. What I'd seen in that huge glass circle was only a small part of it, filled with flowers and little fruit-trees. The reality of it was so much bigger. There was a whole forest under his home, complete with a beautiful sparkling river, with clear-blue water!

I stared in awe. The ground was a brown dirt covered with rich, green, soft grass. There were trees everywhere, ranging from saplings to huge oaks. There were bushes here and there, some covered in ripe berries. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and turned. I saw a flash of russet fur dart into a hole in the ground and tensed. I thought back to my lessons, what animal was like that? A fox! Those were human-realm creatures though, how did it get here?! I shrugged and looked around. It was huge, but I didn't think I'd get lost, so I started exploring the amazing place hidden deep under the dull plains of the demon-realm.

I looked carefully in awe at everything I saw. Everything was from the human realm! Even the dirt beneath my feet! I was only 10, but I was seeing things some ancients haven't seen! Travels to the human world were only granted to a certain few demons. I smiled and kept walking. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement again. I turned eagerly to see what it was, and froze. A huge tree was walking towards me, moving incredibly fast! An Ent! It held out razor-sharp long wooden fingers and took a swipe at me. Weren't Ents supposed to be friendly?! I yelped and ran as fast as I could away from the huge creature. Before I could take ten steps, it caught me in its huge claws, and held me up, high from the ground. I stared, frightened. I couldn't die now! I had only started to experience real life!


	18. Strange isn't Always Bad!

I was being swung around violently, and my head was spinning. I thought Ents were supposed to be peaceful, slow creatures?! I heard my clothes begin to rip. I wasn't sure if that was good or bad. They broke, and I flew through the air and hit a tree. Definitely bad. I clung to the tree and climbed to the top. I checked myself quickly for broken bones. Nothing. I grinned, I had escaped the Ent! I looked around, trying to find it. I couldn't seem to find it, only a bunch of trees. Maybe it was hiding? I turned around to check the other side and found myself face-to-face with the Ent.

I yelped and looked around desperately for a weapon or escape route. Finding nothing, I made a rash decision. I jumped onto the Ent. I leaped for its shoulder and hung on tight. I used rough patches of its bark to climb down quickly, and just as I reached the bottom, it grabbed me again. It pulled me up and over its open mouth. I looked down in horror. It had huge sharp teeth in a ragged circle in its mouth. I shut my eyes tightly. I thought Ents only ate nectar! They weren't supposed to have teeth! I felt myself start to fall straight into the Ent's open maw.

As I fell, something hit me hard in the side, and I tumbled through the air away from the Ent. I landed in a soft patch of grass, winded. What the hell had just happened? I opened my eyes and saw the Ent laying on the ground, eyes closed and breathing softly, asleep. I groaned, why did he have carnivorous Ents in his underground forest? And why had it suddenly fallen asleep? I looked around and saw Seran walking over, his expression a mixture of amusement, exasperation, and worry. He was holding a leather bag filled with a green powder.

He stopped in front of me. "Very resourceful, finding a way to get in here. Nice job!" He grinned. "Next time, ask me first. This is a much more dangerous place than you'd think. Alright?" I looked down, ashamed. I should've known better than to go into a strange place by myself. "Yes si- Seran. I'm sorry!" He knelt down by me and hugged me. "It's fine, I never forbid it. I should've warned you. How about we both use our heads a bit more?" He grinned and stood up, ruffling my hair. He held out a hand and pulled me up. "Come on kiddo, lets go eat!"

I sat at the table, staring at the plate in front of me. Seran noticed my confusion. "It's human food. I've always thought souls were a bit tasteless and boring. Human food doesn't fill us up, but hell, it tastes great!" He pointed to the food on his plate. "That is bread, that's meat, and that's corn!" I looked at him, puzzled by his actions. "It serves no purpose, but you eat it anyways? Where did you get it?" He sighed. "It's a habit I picked up from the human realm. It's where I get this food. It's great, just try it!"

I tried a bite and froze. It was delicious! Souls were boring compared to this! I finished my plate quickly. "Like it?" Seran asked, a smile in his voice. I looked up and saw him grinning at me. "Yeah! It's great!" I replied, still surprised. He finished his food soon after, and we walked to the library. I sat on a soft red chair while he pulled out book after book, setting them next to me. After about twenty books he sat down. "You have two weeks to read these!" He said cheerfully. "Alright!" I replied. "That should be easy!" He smirked. "You'll see!" He was silent for a minute, examining a book. "I can tell that you're full of questions. Ask away!"

I sat silently, wondering which question I should ask first. "Well for starters, why is there a carnivorous Ent in your garden?" His grin grew wider. "That's a part of my job!" I waited for a minute, but he didn't say anything else. "Well, what is your job?" He looked at me, smiling. "I am the 3rd adviser of the Lord of the Demons. I am in charge of relations with the human world and its creatures! That includes plant and animal life. I basically just study every single thing I can find in the human realm, living and non-living! Your human-realm textbook was written by me!"

I stared at him, surprised. "That's incredible! Just one question. What does that have to do with carnivorous Ents?" He shrugged. "Side project. I mixed Ent and bear DNA." I looked at him, puzzled. "What is DNA? How did you do that?" He froze. "Well, I wasn't going to tell anyone, but whatever. You're my apprentice! Can you keep a secret?" I nodded solemnly. "Yes Seran!" He smiled sadly. "I used to have a human partner. He was a really nice guy, intelligent and kind. His other form looked like a miniature version of him, about 15 centimeters tall. It wasn't special except for one fact. He could travel in time."

I stared at him. Time travel? I'd never heard of that partner form! That was incredible! "So you went forward in time?" He smiled again, "Yes! He could take one person with him. We went hundreds of years into the future and learned many incredible things. I was there for years, and became a prominent scientist in human society, 2400 AD. It was fun! We came back adamant to never tell anybody about my partner's power, lest somebody kidnap him to use it. He died about twenty years ago." He looked incredibly sad. It was a huge difference compared to the energetic happy demon I'd seen so far.

I walked over and hugged him, trying to distract him. "I heard that the night sky is really amazing! I've never been outside before at night, can we go look at the sky?" He gave me a shocked look. "You're 10, and you've never seen the night sky?! I need to have a serious talk with the head instructor! Of course we can go! Come on!" He ran out of the room, back to his energetic self. He was practically bouncing with anticipation and excitement. He was more exited than me! We went through the portal and walked up the stairs. To my surprise, we didn't go outside, but continued up six more flights of stairs! We came out at the rooftop, which had people dotted here and there, sitting and waiting for the sunset.

I recognized a few kids from school, including Reyvis. He saw me too, and stuck his tongue out at me, causing his mentor to whack him lightly on the head. I stuck my tongue out back at him while his mentor wasn't looking, and Reyvis glared at me. I smirked and sat down with Seran. I noticed him looking at me, amused. "What?" I said, slightly self-conscious. "Not friendly with that one, are you?" He replied. I shook my head, "No way! He's a jerk!" Seran laughed quietly. "His mentor is a friend of mine. I think we should set you two up for a fight in a few weeks! We need to get training!" He suddenly pointed to distant shapes, and as I turned and looked, the sunset hit.


	19. Controversial Adventure!

The mountains in the distance seemed to come to life. The sunlight went right through them, and colors started appearing. It wasn't harsh, but a soft glow, beautiful and always changing. Every second it was a different hue, a soft change. Everything melded into each other, and I was lost in the colors, unable to look away. It was just so different from anything I'd experienced before.

Life had always been ordered for me. Everything was always predictable and repeating, a dependable schedule. I would wake up, get dressed, go to classes, have an hour of free time in the yard, go back to my dorm, and sleep. Once a week we would eat, once every two weeks we would all file to the auditorium for an announcement. It was simple and orderly, I always knew what to expect and what to do next. It was easy.

Ever since I met Seran, however, life had been a crazy mess. I didn't know why, but I enjoyed it. I loved it, learning exiting new things rather than algorithms, exploring secret underground gardens instead of an auditorium, and seeing incredible new things rather than a dull gray wall during class time. Life wasn't supposed to be different. They had said our mentors would all be ordered and teach us what we needed to know. Seran was different. I remembered how the head instructor had seemed surprised and annoyed that Seran was on the list of mentors.

Why had he reacted like that? Wasn't he the person who had written up the list? Had Seran messed with the list? Why would he do that, and why would he choose me? Had he just chosen the first name he'd seen? There were so many questions! Why didn't he just ask for any apprentice? Why did all of the other mentors glare at him and stay away? Seran was an amazing person, but he might not be what he seemed. I was determined to find out.

The sunset was almost over. One sun was already below the horizon, and the other was only a sliver of light. The colors were growing dimmer, and were changing more slowly. Soon, all of the colors were gone. The distant mountains had faded to a gray, solid mass. It was incredible how something so amazing could turn into a lump of dull rock. I turned left and spoke quietly, "Seran?" He looked over at me, smiling. "Yes, Azen?" I stared, determined. "Why was the head instructor so surprised and angry that you were on the list as my mentor?" He blinked, obviously surprised, and then grinned.

"Well, aren't you observant?" I stared at him, waiting for a real answer. He sighed, and laid on his back, looking up at the sky. "I'm a bit of an oddity among demons, I suppose you could say. Humans are an intelligent species, yes?" I nodded. "Well, we can also agree that they are a lower species?" I nodded again, wondering where this was heading. "I am fascinated with the human's realm, absolutely fascinated. People hate me for it. They figure that I'm just as dirty and stupid as humans for not murdering them, but spending time trying to understand them. It doesn't help that I bring some here to the demon realm." I stared at him, a bit weirded out. I had always been taught that humans were disgusting creatures; animals. Seran apparently didn't think so!

Something still didn't seem right. "That doesn't seem like enough for all of that controversy surrounding you. Is that really all?" He smiled at me, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "I love curious people, but some things are secret for a reason." I nodded, suddenly a bit scared. I laid by him and looked up at the sky. Something was rising. Three moons rose into the deep black sky. One was a lovely deep blue, the others were white and dotted with pockmarks. I'd seen pictures in my schoolbook, but they were a thousand times more amazing in person. Soon, a huge tan object rose into the sky. The planet Erae. The twenty visible rings didn't spin like I'd hoped, but it was still incredible! I must've looked entranced by it, because when I looked over, Seran was grinning at me.

"What?!" I asked, slightly embarrassed. "Nothing, little kids are just adorable when they're exited!" I narrowed my eyes. "I'm not a kid anymore! I left school!" He just chuckled softly and turned away, looking up at the night sky. I glared back up at the night sky, indignant. I wasn't a damned kid! I was _ten_! I kept looking at the sky, but nothing was appearing. I glanced over at the freak, Reyvis. He was looking up at the sky, bored. I sighed softly and looked back up, starting to feel tired. My eyes started closing, and before I knew it, I was asleep.

I woke up the next morning in my soft bed in Seran's base, which he called a "Home". I quickly pulled on my new apprentice's clothing, which consisted of dark gray boots and pants, A black shirt, and a dark blue cloak that marked me as an apprentice. I noticed a small red design on the bottom right of the cloak. Why was that there? They never mentioned that while preparing us for apprenticeship! I walked into where Seran usually was, the library. I knocked, and then entered without waiting for a response. Seran was at a desk, writing some sort of paper. He glanced over and smiled at me. "Good morning! Ready for an adventure?"

I blinked, surprised. "Yeah! What are we going?!" He grinned, seeming happy because of my enthusiasm. "To the human world!" My eyes widened. "What?! A..Am I allowed?!" He frowned at me, confused. "Why wouldn't you be?" I smiled faintly. "I thought access to the human world was only given to select demons?" He grinned. "You are one of the select!" I stared at him in wonder. "I am?! That's incredible! Why am I so damn special all of a sudden, Seran? It's because I'm your apprentice, right?" He looked at me for a minute, and then smiled softly. "I chose you for a reason, kiddo. You'd turn out special and important even without my help."

I paused, unsure of what to say. He was incredibly kind, and I was very lucky to have him as my mentor. "Thank you, sir..." He smiled at me. "Now are you ready?" I nodded happily. "Yeah!" We walked to the portal-stone and went through. We walked up the stairs and to a semi-small building close by. It was a gray-stoned building with red carved designs, nothing special. Seran placed his hand on the front of the door and it opened. We walked through quickly and stopped. There was simply one huge portal-stone.

Azen placed his hand on it and concentrated. A few moments later, a huge portal appeared, dwarfing any other portal I'd seen before. He pushed me through, and then jumped in. The portal trip took more than a minute, and by the time I landed, I was very stiff. We stretched, and then stood up. As I stood, I noticed a few things. The air was cool and fresh, not hot and stifling. I took a few steps out and stopped. The sky was gray and lumpy. What the hell? I thought that the human realm had blue sky and white clouds! I saw Seran looking at me, amused.

"They're clouds." Seran said, walking up to me. "But they're gray!" I protested. "Human clouds can be gray when storms are near." I nodded slowly. "We learned a little bit about the human realm, but not stuff like this!" he smiled at me. "Well, you will learn a lot with me around!" We started walking. A few hours of talking later, I knew quite a bit about humans, their society, personalities, and how they acted around each other. When we neared Seran's favorite town, which we could tell was getting near by all the smoke, we stopped.

"Put these in your eyes!" Azen said, smiling. He handed me two small pieces of weird material with brown color. "What are they?" I asked, confused. "They will make your eyes look brown. Humans panic when they see red eyes." I nodded. "Alright!" I was able to get them into my eyes with some effort, and after it was done, I couldn't even feel them in there! It was painless. We walked into the little town, Seran confident, I nervous. We had barely walked a few meters into the town before somebody walked up to us. He smiled at Seran, "Hello Seran! It's nice to finally see you back! You've been gone for weeks!" Seran laughed. "Yeah, that's the life of an adventurer, right?" The human laughed. "You're right, of course! A man misses his friend though!" As they talked, I examined the man.

He was a typical human male, burly and tan. He seemed to be about thirty, with friendly brown eyes and shaggy brown hair. He had tough brown working boots, leather pants, and a light shirt that used to be white. His hands and clothes were covered in white powder, and the shop he had just walked out of was displaying bread. A baker. I focused back on their conversation just in time. "So, who is this little kid here? Your son?" Seran laughed. "I wish! No, he is my apprentice!" The man smiled. "Apprentice? What trade can you learn from a traveler?" Seran frowned. "Quite a bit! He will be one of the most intelligent in the world when I'm done with him!"


	20. Twisted Minds

I stared at Seran. Did he actually mean it, or was he acting for the human? Hopefully he meant it, because I was liking the sound of that. The man turned to me. "So, are you exited to be apprenticed to a traveler?" I looked at him for a few moments, deciding how to answer. "Yes sir, he's a bit weird, but hell is it fun to be with him!" The man looked surprised, but smiled anyways. "He has spirit, Seran! Good luck with him!" He smiled back down at me and stuck out his large, tan hand. "I'm Walter, its nice to meet you...?" I smiled back and shook his hand. "Azen." He nodded firmly. "Yes! I look forward to seeing you in the future!"

Walter's eyes widened as the smell of burning bread filled the air, and he sprinted back inside. "Seran?" He looked down at me. "Yes?" "Humans are weird." He chuckled and started walking. "They are! It makes them interesting! They are the only other species we know of that is even close to our level of intelligence! They even follow the theory of mind!" I glanced at him as we walked, puzzled. Seran was also very strange. I usually couldn't follow what he was saying, and he seemed to sometimes forget I was there and go on a small confusing rant. I wondered how long it'd been since he visited a psychologist.

We were quickly nearing a church. It was tall, painted white, and a cross was standing tall on the steeple. Seran seemed to be heading straight for it, which confused me. Demons were, as a rule, atheist. Some were religious, but they were relentlessly teased and defeated with logic. I hated religion, it made a good children's story, but for a human adult? Ridiculous. A huge being in the sky controlling everything? There were so many weak points!" I was still milling over religion when we stepped inside the church. It was small; an altar at the front and a few pews. It was boring overall, the most interesting things being the stained glass window and the dead body.

Azen paused, his eyes widening at the sight. He quickly strode up to an old human male dressed in white, who I assumed was the preacher. "What happened?!" The preacher looked up solemnly. "She died in childbirth." I looked at the body curiously. The woman's eyes were almost closed, and you could just barely see a sliver of green. Her hair was a deep brown, long and flowing down her back. She was wearing a woolen dark green homespun dress. There was a heartbroken man clinging to her cold hand, sobbing. He was holding a crying newborn infant.

I wondered why humans reproduced the way they did. It seemed so inefficient! They sometimes died in the process, which was bloody and painful. Humans were heathens. Demons weren't quite so vulgar, but we couldn't figure out what was happening. Demons just appeared. One moment the road would be empty, the next moment a confused toddler would be standing there. Simple, but confusing. We had been trying to figure it out, but there was no explanation. You would think that would enforce a belief in a 'god', but it just made us want to figure out the scientific reason.

Seran had stopped conversing with the priest and was now looking sadly at the female. I tugged on his shirt. "Seran?" he looked down at me, startled. "Yes, Azen?" I frowned and spoke quietly. "Why did they take her here, and not a cemetery?" He looked down at the crying infant. "To say last prayers over her body, and to bless the child and husband." he replied. "That seems unhygienic! Don't people come here every day to pray and lay offerings on this table?" I muttered. Seran frowned and knelt beside me, a soft look in his eyes.

"Azen?" He said quietly. "Demons in general are taught to ignore most emotion, right?" I nodded. "Well, I disagree with how they do things. I believe emotion is good. We have emotions for a reason after all, hmm? Empathy is important. Kindness and understanding both stem from empathy. Without it, we are worse than humans. We need to be able to understand each other. If you can understand why they honor their dead, even if it is pointless and unhygienic, then you are doing well. I want you to connect with yourself and the world, not push it away. Do you understand, Azen? It is one of the most important things you will ever learn."

I stared at him in surprise. I hadn't been expecting such a heartfelt and deep conversation! Why did this matter so much to him? "Do you understand?" He repeated softly, his eyes searching mine. "Yes sir." I replied solemnly, determined to do the best I could, even though I couldn't understand why.

I saw a sudden movement near the ceiling and looked up. A demon was sitting on one of the rafters, grinning down at me. Seran followed my gaze and looked up. His eyes widened

and he said a hurried goodbye to the priest, pulling me quickly into the nearby woods. "What is it?! Who was that?! Is it bad?!" I said, startled, a thousand questions running through my head. He looked grimly down at me. "That, my young apprentice, is my equivalent of your Reyvis." I groaned. Seran's rival and enemy?! This didn't look like it was going to go well. A few seconds later the demon appeared, walking into the forest cheerfully.

"Ah, Seran! It's so nice to see you here!" The demon said, stopping a few feet away. "It's a shame that I cannot say the same for you, Crewe. " The tall demon pouted, his dark red hair falling over his eyes. He looked up a second later, his eyes glittering with malice. "A shame indeed!" He walked up to me, and Seran narrowed his eyes, grabbing my shoulder and pulling me away from him. A second later, a slash of light appeared where my head was. Seran glared at him as he grinned. "Aww, a miss! What a shame!" I ducked instinctively as another slash of light appeared, Seran's fist simultaneously connecting with Crewe's face.

Crewe stumbled back, clutching his bleeding nose. He smirked at Seran. "Aww, is somebody getting violent?" Seran was furious, and I could tell he was doing his best to hold back his anger. "You know I hate violence, but when you attack helpless children you're going too damned far!" Crewe laughed, a sound that made me shiver. "How interesting! You've only hitten me twice in our hundreds of years! Just attacking some brat can make you interesting?" Seran looked at him, disgusted. "Shut the hell up you damned traitor!" Seran cried, furious. I shrank back, I'd never seen Seran this angry. It was absolutely terrifying, but Crewe seemed to find it entertaining.

Crewe laughed again, looking at me. "I think you're scaring your apprentice!" Seran quickly glanced back at me, and as he did, Crewe stepped forward, hand raised. I pulled hard on Seran's arm, causing him to fall down just as a slash of light missed his chest. As Crewe cast a furious glare at me and raised his hand again, I pulled out my knife and lept forward. As a flash of light blinded me, I struck wildly. I felt flesh give, and heard a pained cry. A sharp pain slashed across my shoulder, and I could see blood quickly soaking through my shirt.

I stumbled back and slid to my knees, clutching my agonizing shoulder. I was losing blood quickly, and I was only half-conscious when I saw Seran knock Crewe down with another punch. He pinned Crewe to the ground and held a knife to his throat, but hesitated. I heard Crewe say something, but I was too far gone to know what. Seran's grip loosened, and Crewe threw him off, causing Seran to lose his grip on the knife. Crewe gave us a smile and blew Seran a kiss. He turned and walked off into the woods, leaving Seran glaring at his back, both furious and looking... lost. I blacked out.

I woke up on an unfamiliar bed. It reminded me of the infirmary at the school, but the herb smell was stronger, and it was empty except for me. My shoulder was bandaged, but it still throbbed painfully. I looked around slowly and saw nobody. After a few minutes I slipped back off into a sleepy haze, unable to stay awake.

The next time I woke up was much different. Seran was on a chair by my bed, reading a book. He looked up as I moved and smiled, looking relieved. "Azen! You're awake" I smiled back, my shoulder feeling much better. "Yeah! What... what happened?" His smile faltered. "After you passed out I brought you here, to a healer's store." I frowned. "Thank you! I have a question though. Why didn't you take me to the main healing area?" I asked, referring to a hospital-like place that nearly everyone went to. He smiled again. "This place is owned by one of my mentor's best friends! He was over a lot when I was apprenticed, so I know him well! He is very trustworthy and kind, Just be nice about his age!"

He winked as a demon walked into the room. His right eye was obscured by black fabric tied around his head. He had light red hair that was almost pink, and his one light red eye twinkled with unheard laughter. He seemed like a very nice person, and I hadn't even talked to him yet! "Azen," Seran said cheerfully, "This is Fendrel, one of the best herbalists in the kingdom, and an old friend of mine!" I smiled. "It's nice to meet you, sir!" He nodded, smiling back. "Likewise, Azen." A few moments of silence passed as he examined my arm. "You're good to go! Just be more careful next time. Leave the fighting to the experienced next time."

I frowned. "If I hadn't done anything, Seran would've gotten slashed across the chest!" He narrowed his eyes. "Seran heals quickly, he would've been fine." Something told me I should've let it go, but I wouldn't. "I could do something, so I did!" He sighed. "Think of how Seran feels though! He didn't get hurt, but his young apprentice did!" He started going off on a small rant, but Seran laid a hand on his shoulder. "Please, just let it go. He did what he thought was right instead of staying out of the way and waiting for orders. He did good." Fendrel frowned for a few minutes, and then shook his head. "Alright ."

We left about twenty minutes later and began walking south towards the portals. "Seran?" I asked. "Who... Who was that demon? You said he was your equivalent of my Reyvis, so he is obviously your enemy, but who is he really?" Seran frowned to himself and didn't speak for a few minutes. When he finally spoke, his voice was careful. "Crewe was my friend when we were children. In our eighth year of school, he was attacked by a psychotic demon who snuck into the school. It wasn't pretty when we found him. The encounter twisted his mind, and he became a sadistic bastard without realizing it.

He would hurt me quite often, usually without realizing it was bad to do so. He became more and more twisted over time, and soon, I couldn't stand it. I told him to stay away, and he refused. He was quite insane by then, and thought we were still the best of friends. By our ninth year, he wasn't even the same person anymore. He loved to torment me, calling me 'interesting' and 'fun'. He must've targeted me because of our old friendship. Even to this day, he still thinks we are friends. His mind is so twisted I almost feel bad for him." I was silent for a few moments, thinking of what to say. "That's horrible... What did you mean by calling him a traitor? Was it because he betrayed you as a kid?"

Seran shook his head. "No. He fell in with a group of demons that aren't apart of our way of life. They do not follow the demon lord." My eyes widened. "What?! He is a part of the Skeri?!" I exclaimed, referring to the small band of demons that formed a group in the human world, a second demon society that was almost a cult. "Yes. " Seren replied sadly. "He joined the Skeri. It just served to twist his mind more, and now he is who you see today." I hugged Seran. "I'm so sorry for what happened..." Seran looked at me, surprised. He ruffled my hair with a soft smile. "No reason for you to apologize, kiddo." I frowned up at him. "I'm not a kid!" He raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Then why are you more than a foot shorter than practically every demon older than twenty?" I glared at him and looked away, beaten.

As we reached the portals, another question came to mind. "Why did he try to kill me?" Seran looked at me, startled. "What? Hmm... Who knows, his mind is so twisted. Anger? Disgust? Entertainment? Curiosity? Jealousy?" I frowned. "Jealousy?" Seran rolled his eyes. "Who knows what that poor soul thinks. All you need to know is to stay away from him. He views life as entertainment. He will do pretty much anything to get a reaction out of me. He has a sick fascination with my calm, peaceful self. He used to be one of my best friends, but now he is just a sick, twisted imitation of the funny, friendly, happy guy he used to be. It just makes me so sad. " He ruffled my hair again, a sad smile on his face. "Lets go inside."


	21. Hiding in Plain Sight

One Year Later

I dodged the slash and struck back, my knife clashing against his. I saw a flash of reflected light as he pulled out another knife, a throwing knife, and aimed. As he threw it I blocked it with my knife hilt, but that wasn't enough, and it still grazed my arm. I winced, pulling out a second knife of my own, another close-range knife. I went on the offense, slashing methodically at my attacker. As he slowly became used to my style, I changed up, throwing in a huge upwards slash. He grinned and blocked, causing one of my knives to fly out of my hand. He quickly stepped forward and slashed, making me jump backwards and fall off balance. As I tumbled to the ground he stepped forward again, placing a foot lightly on my chest and smiling.

Seran smiled at me and held out his hand. "You did much better this time Azen, good job!" I accepted his hand and was pulled up. "Yeah, but you still beat me!" He chuckled. "I'd be a very poor excuse for an Adviser if I was beaten by an eleven year old with little more than a single year of training!" I couldn't help but smile. "I guess so." He chuckled once again. "So, are you ready to go for another round?"

Six rounds later we finally stopped. I sat on a chair, breathing hard, while Seran started stretching, not even fazed. After a few minutes of relaxation he stood up straight, walking towards the ladder down. "Can I come, please?" I asked, hopeful. After my first adventure down, he had refused to let me go back, saying I was too young. He examined me critically. "I don't think you're quite ready yet, sorry Azen! Another time, perhaps." I slumped, rejected once again. "What's wrong with me?" I asked, "What can I do to be allowed to go?" He sighed and started climbing down the ladder. "I will tell you when you're ready, it's not because you are doing something bad, I promise!" He climbed out of sight, leaving me alone.

I glared at the empty ladder for a few moments, wishing I could follow him down to the beautiful little paradise. I knew it was dangerous, but I was older now! I could handle it! I stomped over to the portal and went through, knowing it was around sunset. I walked up the many flights of stairs and came out on the roof. I walked to a slightly taller portion and rested my back against it, facing the mountain. I looked at the three suns and estimated twenty-five minutes before sunset hit. I leaned my head back against the taller bit, confident that nobody could see me from the entrance.

I was alone for about ten minutes before someone stepped onto the roof. I could tell from the sound of the footsteps that it was a single person, and a lightweight one at that. Definitely not a fully grown demon. I heard the demon mutter something, and I recognized the voice. It was that heathen, Reyvis! An evil plan came into my mind, and I grinned maniacally. I was going to get revenge for last week, when Reyvis had set up a trap outside Seran's portal. I had been in that net for hours before Seran found me!

"Alone! Excellent!" I heard him sit down and pull something out of a bag. I heard the scratching of a pencil, which surprised me. Was Reyvis writing? Drawing? I hadn't expected that of him! It just made me curious. From the sound of the pencil, he was sitting right on the other side of the raised pillar portion of the roof. I grinned and started climbing the pillar, being as silent as possible. When I reached the top, which was only two meters high, I peered over the edge at him. He was facing away from me, absorbed in his writing. I smirked and hung my feet silently over the edge.

Confident that it wouldn't hurt him, I slipped over the side and landed right next to him, grabbing his notebook. I backed up quickly as he gave an outraged cry and stood up, tense and furious. I smirked at him, "Nice notebook! What's in it?" As he ran towards me I held the notebook up. "One more step and it gets ripped in half!" I said in a sing-song voice. He halted immediately, eyes wide and pleading. "No!" I laughed. "Step back!" he quickly backed up a few steps, eyes glued on the book. I grinned at him and opened it up to the first page. He took a step forward, looking scared and angry. "Ah, ah!" I said, threatening to rip it again.

He gritted his teeth and stopped moving, glaring hard at me. I looked down at the first page and raised an eyebrow. I quickly flipped through it, my grin growing wider at every page. It was a 'Journal of Notes'. A human would have called it a 'diary'. I snickered, examining a few pages closely. "I never knew you could write so soulfully!" I said, grinning at him. To my surprise, he seemed to be in near tears. "G..give it back!" He said, voice shaky. I was torn. I wanted to read more and make the bastard pay, but I felt like I was doing something terribly wrong.

My evil side won, and I looked back down. Every so often there was a sketch, poem, or short story. It was a rather large notebook, consisting of about two-hundred pages. Almost all pages were filled, and it was all so personal. I was tempted to take it; I'd have almost unlimited blackmail! Something caught my eye, and I frowned. It was a detailed description of his mentor and mentor's friend getting drunk, which was illegal, and tormenting him. I looked up quickly at Reyvis, who looked completely miserable. I flipped through a few more entries. This seemed to happen at least once a week. His mentor was apparently kind, except when his friend came over. He'd drink, and then torment and torture Reyvis.

"Reyvis?" I asked, "Is this true?" I held up the book to the page. He flinched and looked away. "N..no." i snorted. It was obviously true. I stalked up to him and rolled up his sleeve, ignoring his annoyed attempts to pull away. His arm was covered in bruises, where according to the most recent entry he was kicked hard after being pushed to the ground. Tears welled up in his eyes. "Just leave me alone!" He cried, kicking me in the shin and running downstairs, journal forgotten.

I stared at the sky for minutes, sick to my stomach. His bastard of a mentor! I couldn't imagine what it would be like if Seran did that nearly weekly. I ground my teeth, unsure of what to do. I decided that while I couldn't do much, Seran might be able to! I didn't feel like giving anyone a journal of his secrets, but I knew Seran was too kind to use them for his own ends, like I had shamefully thought. I sprinted downstairs and burst into the library, where Seran was peacefully writing a paper.

I ran up to him. "Seran! Seran! I found out about something terrible!" He raised and eyebrow and set his pencil down, turning his chair to face me. "What is it?" He asked, immediately taking me seriously. I handed him the notebook, which he opened and frowned at. "Did you steal this from Reyvis? I agree, that's terrible." I reddened, ashamed. "Yes sir, but I'm glad that I did. Look at some of the entries. His mentor has been getting drunk illegally with his friend and tormenting him! I even saw the bruises!" Seran looked through it, and he grew angrier and angrier.

When he finally looked up at me though, his face was calm. "You're right, thank you for bringing this to my attention. This will be fixed, i promise you." I nodded, feeling much better. Seran's eyes suddenly gleamed. "One question though, Azenvel. You dislike young Reyvis a lot, even going as far as humiliating him sometimes. Why did you care that he was being... 'tormented'?" I paused, shocked. "I just do!" Seran just looked at me, eyes still waiting for an answer. I sighed, "I do hate him, but I've known him all my life. It's... it's almost like a half-friendly hatred now, do you know what I mean? Yeah, I will beat his ass, but I wouldn't hurt him too badly... I'd never kill him, even if I could. Hell, I'd never publicly humiliate him either, even if he thinks I would. Just personally."

Seran smiled at my terrible, awkward explanation. "I'm glad. You're a good kid, Azen! Such a kind apprentice! Now, shall we go fix this problem?" I nodded, determined. "Yeah! What are we going to do?!" Seran shrugged. "We'll figure it out as we go!" I rolled my eyes and followed him out of the room.

We walked up to Reyvis's mentor's portal and stopped. Seran placed his palm and concentrated hard, his eyes closed. A portal opened a few moments later, and we ducked through, landing on a fluffy black carpet. Seran looked around curiously for his mentor. "Hmm, his room maybe? By the way, I give you permission to do what you see fit, however violent." I grinned and hugged him. "Thank you Seran!" He opened the door to the mentor's room and walked in, me following close behind.

"Hello! So, you're the violent one! I hope you know that it's wrong to hit a child! " Seran said cheerfully to the startled demon, who flinched. "H..hah! This is unauthorized entry!" Seran grinned darkly. "The only authority I answer to is the Lord himself, and he trusts me. I am Seran." The demon's eyes widened and he backed up, scattering documents onto the floor. One of them must've caught Seran's eye, because he flinched and bent quickly, picking one up.

Seran glared murderously at the demon, who had drawn a knife and was backed up against the wall. "Damned traitor!" Seran practically yelled, eyes smoldering. He threw the document onto the floor, where it was quickly retrieved by me. My eyes widened as I read it. It was a letter to that bastard, Crewe! It read:

With greetings, To Crewe.

Things are going well here. Nobody suspects me! They are like a flock of sheep, just as you said. I have completed the tasks you have given me, and await more. As they begin to trust me more and more, my rank has been increasing! Having a successful apprentice helps, but I'm afraid I was carried away for a few months with drink. The boy won't tell anybody though, he knows I would silence him immediately.

As you have asked, I have kept an eye on Seran and his apprentice. There has been nothing suspicious from either of them, and neither suspect a thing. They won't see it coming when we strike. In two days from now, I wi-

That was where it ended, cut off by our entering the room.

How ironic was it? Everything was just so interconnected! Who would've guessed that bastard was so close this whole time! Seran gave me a forced smile and held out a hand for the paper. I handed it to him quickly, fearing his rare anger. He read it and laughed. "How cute. I don't suspect a thing? I don't appreciate people speaking for me. Let me tell you..." He grabbed the demon's shirt and pulled him closer, speaking quietly in his ear. "I don't trust anyone. I suspect everyone and everything. I learned the hard way. Don't assume next time, or it will come back to bite you."

he thrust the demon away from him, disgusted. The demon winced and stood up. "He told me to give you this if you found me out." He handed Seran a paper, who accepted it glanced at it. I saw the color quickly drain from Seran's face and his eyes grew frightened and sickened. He backed up and steadied himself against the wall, ignoring the demon, who had grabbed a stack of papers and ran out, grabbing small objects and shoving them into a bag. A few seconds later he was gone, disappearing into the portal. I cast a furious glance at the closing portal and turned back to Seran, who to my horror had slid to his knees, staring at the now-crumpled piece of paper in his fist.


	22. A Photograph

I knelt by Seran and shook his shoulder. "Seran? What is it?" His eyes cleared, and he stood. "Nothing." I rolled my eyes as he stuffed the paper in his pocket. Yeah right. I left Seran alone, annoyed that he'd tell such an obvious lie. I knocked on Reyvis's door and heard footsteps. He opened the door, took one look at me, and then slammed it shut in my face. "Hey!" I yelled through the door. "Do you want your damned notebook or not?!" He grudgingly opened the door and I grinned, pulling him out and throwing him to the couch. He sat up quickly and stood up as Seran walked out, completely composed. "I'd recommend you sit, kiddo." We both sat, unsure of who he was talking to.

Reyvis looked at both of us, confused. "Where is Tev? My mentor?" Seran sighed, looking both sad and angry. "He was a traitor. We attacked, but he escaped. I will discuss your situation with the Lord." Reyvis smiled nervously. "H...hah, are you sure he is gone?" He looked around nervously, and Seran's eyes softened. "I'm sure. He can't hurt you anymore, you can tell me anything with no retribution." Reyvis fell silent, looking at his boots.

Reyvis shrugged. "I found out by accident. His room was forbidden, but he was gone, and I'm a curious person. I entered the room, obviously. It was strewn with papers and documents. I read some of them, and realized who he really was. I tried to get out, but he'd blocked the portal. When he came back, I attacked him, but I was incredibly outmatched. He made me tell him what I found, and then sent me to my room. He entered a few hours later and made me swear not to tell anybody anything, or he'd destroy... something. That was a few months ago, and ever since then he has been drinking heavily with a friend of his occasionally." Reyvis finished, eyes staying on his boots.

Seran looked at him, eyes filled with questions. "What would he have destroyed?" Reyvis shrank back, glaring. "None of your damned business!" Seran held up his hands placatingly, "Okay! I'm sorry for asking, kiddo. What did you find in his room?" Reyvis looked back down at his boots, seeming nervous from all of the questioning. "Quite a lot, sir. Many letters from somebody named 'Crewe', some dating back many, many years. The oldest I saw was from about eighty years ago, but there could've been older. This 'Crewe' Is a high ranking demon from the 2nd society, and Tev's old mentor."

Seran smiled at him. "Just stay here, please. I will alert the Lord, and you will be taken care of. Okay?" He walked out, leaving us alone. We were silent for almost ten minutes before I found the courage to talk. "I'm sorry for taking your notebook..." I handed it back to him as he looked up, startled. "Whatever." He smiled softly, contradicting his annoyed speech. "I'd better go, bye Reyvis!" I stuck my tongue out at him jokingly, opened a portal, and jumped through.

When I finally found Seran, he was sleeping in the back of the library on a half-empty shelf. Seran could be very strange. The paper was held loosely in his hand, tempting me. I gave in once again to my evil side and carefully eased it out of his hand, sitting in a chair a few shelves away with it. I carefully uncrumpled the paper, straightening it out. There was color on one side, writing on the other.

The writing said:

You found that idiot,Tev, just as expected. You've always been smart! I think you just need a reminder though, dear Seran. I will always be one step ahead of you. Always. See the other side? A picture! I stole the technology from him, just as I stole his sanity! He was very easy to break, although he also seems he would be easy to put back together! I will consider giving him back if you visit me! Just remember that there is always a price, just like I'm always one step ahead, dear Seran. I might not give him back if your offer isn't good enough. His screams are almost adorable! Please keep it down about me over there, you never know, a knife might just happen to slide down his throat!

-With best regards, Crewe

I stared at it for a minute. Crewe was insane! Horrible bastard! I turned it over and immediately felt sick. It was an incredibly detailed portrait of a Kerilin tied to a chair, limp, but his head was being held up from the hair by a gloved hand. He had dark hair and clear blue eyes, pupil framed by demon red. He would've been quite handsome if his face wasn't covered in cuts and bruises. His eyes were dead-looking, no emotion in them except pain. He was wearing a cloak, Seran's mark on the left shoulder. His had on demon's clothes, but they were ripped apart by what looked like knife blades and soaked with dried and some fresh blood. It was Seran's "dead" Kerilin. I shivered. Crewe was absolutely sick. Twisted, Twisted bastard.

No wonder Seran had freaked out! He had thought the Kerilin was dead, but he was actually captured, suffering and probably waiting for Seran to save him. I felt a twinge of guilt, even though I had nothing to do with it. I I glanced at the Kerilin one more time and stood up. I slid the paper back into Seran's hand and shook his shoulder gently. "Seran?" I whispered, not wanting to break the peaceful silence. "Wake up!" he opened his eyes suddenly. "I wasn't asleep, young apprentice. Advisors don't nap in the middle of the day!" I flushed red with embarrassment. "I'm sorry for taking the paper, I just-" he cut me off.

"Don't be sorry. I would've done the same!" I could tell that Seran was trying hard to be cheerful. He was smiling, but his eyes were shocked and sad. "Was... Was that your Kerilin?" I asked softly, unable to help myself. He flinched and nodded. "Yes, that's Rowan. I met him many, many years ago. " Seran smiled softly, eyes containing infinite sadness. "I was apprehensive of Kerilin at first. Humans? Being partnered with a lower species? I was so wrong. I don't regret anything, although he probably does, now. He was my best friend. We had hundreds of adventures through hundreds of years. I miss him."

Seran smiled a fake smile at me and jumped off the shelf, shoving the paper in his pocket. "I will be back soon, I'm going to go retrieve Rowan." "I'm coming!" I said, determined. He smiled down at me and ruffled my hair. "Nope. Too dangerous! I will be back soon!" He went to the portal and opened it, jumping into it with a wave. I waited a few moments, and then pressed my hand to the stone. I didn't care what he said, I was going with him! There was only one problem though; the portal wasn't opening. The bastard had blocked it! I kicked the stone and stalked to my room, furious and worried.

Six Hours Later

I had just started a new book when I heard the whoosh of a portal opening. I sprinted out and then stopped. Crewe. I backed ito the doorway and reached for my knife, but it wasn't there. I'd left it in the library! Crewe turned around and saw me. I gasped and backed up more as I realized that he was carrying Seran. "Hmm? Oh! The little apprentice makes an appearance!" He chuckled darkly and set Seran down softly. "So," He said, turning to face me. "I have a question! Where is Seran's room?" I stayed silent, refusing to answer the bastard. He sighed and took a step forward, eyes menacing.

He suddenly paused and grinned. He opened the portal and stepped through. I sprinted up and dragged Seran into a storage room, hoping he wouldn't look there. I ran to grab my knife just as a huge weight hit me in the back, knocking me off my feet. I hit the glass hard, winded. I flipped over a few seconds later, furious. My eyes widened as I saw who he was setting down. Rowan. I stood up and faced him. "What do you want?!" He grinned. "Show me Seran's room, and I will let you take Rowan here, although he's practically useless now, being insane!"

I smirked. "You're insane, does that make you useless?" His face transformed from a cold pleasantry to furious. "I'm not insane!" He yelled, eyes flashing with fury and anger. He swept his hand across and I saw a flash of light. A few seconds later the dust cleared, and I could see a huge rent in the wall.

Crewe smiled coldly. "Show me his room." I pointed shakily, hoping Seran would forgive me. I didn't see any other option, and at least Seran would get Rowan back. Crewe quickly disappeared into Seran's room, leaving me and the unconscious Rowan alone, but not for long. Seran walked out of the storage room looking sleepy and confused. "What..? He asked. I was about to reply when the idiot tripped over Rowan and knocked himself unconscious.

That moron! I groaned and smacked my head. Seran was the weirdest demon ever. There was no sign of Crewe, so I moved them both to a small storage room that Seran kept the healing equipment in. I set them both on soft infirmary-style beds and peeked outside. Crewe was just walking out, carrying a small bag. He winked at me and nodded. "See you around, kid! Thanks!" He stepped into the portal and disappeared, my angry yell never reaching his ears.

I went into the room to see Seran sitting up in bed, staring in shock at Rowan. "How?" he asked. I shrugged. "Crewe carried both of you here, went into your room and took something, and then left." He jumped to his feet, alarmed. "What did he take?!" I flinched. "J..just a small blue bag." Seran paled considerably and opened his mouth to speak, but a mumble from Rowan interrupted him. Seran winced and walked to his bed, looking unnerved. He brushed fingers across Rowan's forehead and frowned. "Fever." Seran walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a small bottle. He walked over to Rowan and trickled some of it's contents into the Kerilin's mouth. He pulled up a chair and sat by his bed, waiting for him to wake up.


	23. Hidden Pasts, Night Terrors, and Allies

After about twenty minutes of examining my mentor's, and his partner's, wounds, Rowan insisted we walk to the nearby town, Verdia, and see his old friends. Our plans were cut short as soon as we stepped out of the portal building, however. The formerly red sky was now blanket of deep-orange clouds, swirling and thundering. A rainstorm. Seran gasped as soon as he saw it, his eyes shining. "This is the first storm in over thirty years!" I smiled excitedly. I'd never seen a storm! "Can we catch it, Seran? Please?" I begged. He smiled at me first, and then more gently at Rowan.

"Of course! Let's get to the roof!" I gave an exited bounce, embarrassing myself in the process, and sprinted up the stairs to the top. As I turned the last corner to get outside, I bumped into someone, knocking us both down. "What the hell?!" We said, simultaneously. I stood quickly and narrowed my eyes again. "What are you doing up here?" I spat venomously. He flinched, and despite our past animosity, I felt bad. Reyvis had been through a lot recently with his mentor's betrayal.

I sighed and knelt next to him. "Sorry. You here to watch the storm too?" he nodded at me with a confused glare. "yeah." I frowned. "So, who's your mentor now?" He smiled slightly, suddenly looking much happier. "One of your mentor's friends, he's kind of old, but he can fight worth hell!" I smirked. "Good. You're going to need the training, we are going to have a duel!" He paused, shocked, and then grinned maniacally. "How does two months sound?" I smirked. "Three, you're behind on your training!" He glared at me. "I could beat your sorry ass without training!" He jumped up, and I took my ready stance, smirking. Then Rowan came up.

Two minutes later, Reyvis and I were sitting at Rowan's feet, getting a lecture about fighting allies. "But Rowan!" I protested. "It's normal for demons, now! It's been hundreds of years since you've been here. Fighting isn't exactly encouraged, but it helps us keep our skills sharp! It isn't bullying." Rowan frowned, about to give me a tongue lashing, but stopped as Seran walked up and set a hand on his shoulder. "Let it go." He said simply. "I will take care of it if it gets out of hand." Rowan's gaze softened, and he nodded at us. We sprinted back to the edge of the roof, awaiting the storm.

A few minutes of silence passed before Reyvis spoke up. "So, what's with those two? They seem... close." I smiled slightly. "I dunno. I just met Rowan yesterday, but I know something's up between them." We both smirked and fell silent. We both knew that demons and their partners sometimes grew a little closer than some, and while demons only have one gender and don't reproduce the way most other creatures do, sometimes the humans bring the word 'love' into it. Seran and Rowan seemed the type.

Once again, suddenly talkative Reyvis broke the silence. "How could you have only met him yesterday? Was he on a trip when you were assigned to Seran?" I frowned sadly, knowing that Rowan and Seran might not like for anybody to know. "Something like that." Reyvis accepted my vague explanation and grew quiet again, leaving us in a surprisingly friendly and comfortable silence. A few minutes later, Seran and Rowan joined us, sitting on the edge of the roof.

We passed another twenty minutes in banter before the storm finally began. There had been loud, rumbling thunder and flashes of light, but nothing could've prepared us for the actual storm.

Huge rumbling bursts of thunder suddenly shook the ground, almost causing us to tumble over the edge of the roof. We scrambled backwards quickly as the sky seemed to turn to ocean as a thick rain of veal burst from the sky, drenching is in blood-like liquid. Huge bursts of thunder shook us every few seconds as the rain pelted down, the sticky liquid covering everything in the deep red of blood. I couldn't see anything but red as I curled up, shaken to nearly pieces by the rumbling thunder.

A huge burst of wind caught me, talking me several meters away from the rest of the group. I felt myself caught up in a mini-tornado as the wind seemed to sense me laying helpless and spin me a half-dozen meters into the air, and as I crashed down, lightning struck, the blue-white burst of energy causing some of the veal to evaporate, leaving a clear spot for a few moments. I curled up into a ball as the rain increased, pummeling me into the stone roof. Another rumble of thunder shook, and I nearly cried out as the roof cracked, sending an unknown demon tumbling down into the building.

I crawled away from the crack quickly, but not quickly enough. Another bolt of lightning struck barely a meter away, burning me and widening the crack with it's heat. I plummeted into darkness, hitting the stone top floor with a groan. I stood slowly, dripping wet. I walked to the stairs and gasped. There was no door at the top, so the stairs were flooded with red liquid. I took a deep breath and grabbed the handrail walking back up into the raging storm with more stubbornness than bravery.

I walked slowly through the mostly-liquid air, only to find myself blinking in bright sunshine a moment later. The storm had stopped as suddenly as it had begun. I examined my surroundings to see a group of red-covered, dripping people. I walked over just in time to a hear a faint voice, obviously Rowan's. "Blood... So much blood..." He suddenly collapsed, Seran gasping slightly and immediately dropping to his knees beside him, picking him up. "And that, children, is why most of us live underground."

It took two hours to get cleaned off and into Seran's base, mostly because of the time it took to wake Rowan up. Seran said it was because of his time with Crewe that made him freak out like that, because Crewe had probably sliced Rowan's eyes up and healed them multiple times, filling his vision with blood as he cut Rowan. It made me want to hug Rowan- strange for me- but Seran was already doing that, sitting in a chair with Rowan laying in his lap, sleeping.

I looked up from my book on weather, grinning to see Seran pause sheepishly in the act or him running his hands through Rowan's mussed hair. I smirked, "You two are very close!" Seran scowled half-heartedly. "Yeah, yeah." I chuckled lightly. "Kind of uncommon, isn't it? Eh, either way it's kinda cute." Seran rolled his eyes. "Get back to your book, kid." I frowned sulkily. "I finished it!" he gave an exasperated sigh. "Go find another!" I groaned, standing up. My back was still sore from falling onto it from the crack on the roof.

"Anything you'd recommend?" I asked, eyes scanning the shelves for an interesting read. I glanced over to see his eyes brighten, fingers once again in Rowan's hair. "Ooh! So many... hmmm... Fifteenth book on the thirty-third shelf in section two!" I looked at him, aghast. "Damn! You must've been pretty bored to memorize all of the books!" His eyes settled on Rowan's face, flashing with sadness. "Just lonely." I frowned, walking to section two.

I walked back with a book on human psychology, half-expecting to see Rowan awake, but he was still sleeping peacefully. I sat on the edge of a chair and started flipping through the book, looking for an interesting article. I finally found one on human fear and sat down, beginning to read it. By the time I had finished the book, I figured I knew as much about humans as a human themselves! It was a long and detailed book that took me six hours to read, and by that time, Seran was asleep, his fingers still locked in Rowan's hair. I smirked at them before walking to my own room, falling asleep with little trouble.

/I was running through a dark woods. I was being chased, although the identity of my pursuer was unknown. I had been running for a long time, and I was beginning to fade into exhaustion. I soon stopped and collapsed, surrounded by fear so strong it was almost palpable. I crawled into a nearly bush and lay there, trying to breathe quietly. A quick, freezing wind went by with a soft sigh. I heard a footstep crunch close by and froze. I paused, holding my breath, and I suddenly heard a whistling sound as something hurtled towards me, wrapping around my throat. I couldn't even move as it lifted me up, higher and higher until I was face-to-blank with a terrible being. I stared into the blank white face, somehow knowing that if it had a mouth, it would have smiled, and screamed. I screamed until my throat was raw, and black tentacles slashed across my face, dying my vision red with my own blood./

I woke up panting and sweating, curled up in a tight ball with somebody's hand resting on my shoulder. I jerked away, startled, only to see Rowan's concerned face peering down at me. "Are you okay, Azenvel?" I laughed, despite myself. "N...No need for formalities; Azen is fine, and yes, I'm sorry to wake you!" He smiled at me tenderly. "It's alright, Azen. I wasn't asleep." Before I could stop myself, I muttered, "Probably 'cause you were sleeping so long in Seran's lap with him messing with your damn hair." I grinned as I noticed his face grow several shades darker.

"W..Whatever! Get to sleep or something!" He said quickly, face hot with embarrassment. "I'm not sleepy though!" I pouted, standing up and pulling on a travelling cloak and belt, slipping two daggers into it. "I'm going for a walk!" He frowned. "Not until Seran wakes up, you aren't!" Rowan jumped as Seran's voice entered the fray. "I am awake! What's going on?"

He walked in and sat on the edge of my bed, smiling with a sparkle in his eye. "I want to go for a walk, and he said to wait until you get up!" I muttered. Seran snorted. "Rowan's right, you aren't allowed to just disappear like that!" I frowned sulkily. "Alright, Seran. Can I still go for a walk?" he grinned. "We all are! We didn't get a chance to yesterday, so today, we visit an old friend of ours!" I looked at him, puzzled. "Who is he, anyways?" Seran smiled at Rowan. "A very talented herbalist."

Ten minutes later, we were on our way to the town of Verdia. It took close to an hour, and by the time we arrived, Rowan was feeling faint. I couldn't blame him, though; he'd been strapped to a chair for more than a century, it was no wonder his stamina had fallen. We walked through the town, Rowan and Seran stopping occasionally to chat. We eventually found the herbalist's shop, however, and entered. I almost gasped at the scene in front of me. Around twenty demons, most covered in bandages, sat there with a light-red-almost-pink headed demon handing them ointments.

"Is that the herbalist?" I whispered to Seran, motioning towards the pinkish-haired demon. He nodded and walked over, grabbing Rowan's hand. "Hello!" he called cheerfully, making the Herbalist turn. With a jolt, I noticed that he had an eye patch covering his right eye. His eyes widened at the sight of the kerilin attached to Seran's hand. "Rowan!" he exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. He walked quickly over and hugged the kerilin, making him squeak with the force of it. He quickly released Rowan and examined him from head-to-toe, frowning.

"What the hell happened to you?" He murmured, ruffling his hair, earning a side half-glare from Seran. Rowan shrugged. "Nothing too bad. I'm fine now." The Herbalist looked like he wanted to argue, but kept himself under control. "Whatever you say! So, who's the kiddo? One of the twins?" He examined me closely. "Nah, he's demon." Rowan glared at him, suddenly livid. "Never mention them again!" He hissed. Seran glanced at him, surprised, as The Herbalist raised his hands in surrender. "Sorry!"

I finally spoke up. "What's with all of the injured?" The Herbalist frowned, casting a glance around the room. "It was the storm. It was sudden, violent, and caught many unprepared." Seran nodded slowly. "Damn storm came outta nowhere!" The Herbalist smiled knowingly at Seran. "Indeed it did, just like Rowan's return! How are you two getting along?" Rowan's face grew visibly red, and Seran just chuckled.

"Just fine, thank you! I heard you applied for an apprentice. Did you get one?" The Herbalist frowned. "No. Less kids than usual graduated this year." Seran frowned at The Herbalist. "What do you mean? Less kids were found?" He shook his head. "For some reason, a whole bunch of kids hid before the graduation ceremony, and whenever they schedule a new one, the kids hide. When they lock the kids in a room, they disappear before the ceremony and reappear after." Seran cast a puzzled glance at Rowan, who was smiling. "Well, Seran? Azen? Let's get to work! We have a mystery to solve!"


	24. Little Friends and Big Problems

Hey guys! It's finally spring! To celebrate, I wanted to give you the longest chapter yet! Please, please, please, if you have any questions, feel free to ask! PM me or something, even if it's a simple pronunciation question, I don't want anyone to be confused. Thank you all so much for reading, you people are the best!

PS: I'd like to know who is your favorite character, if you'd be kind enough to tell me! I love knowing that, it helps me write characters!

Special thanks to my editor, SheNinja.

-Kasimyr

Seran and I stared at him. "What?" I asked, confused. Rowan smirked, "We are heading to the school, and we are going to find out what the hell is going on!" Seran broke into a grin, "You just love things like this. Alright, I have the authority. Let's go!" He paused, looking at me. "Of course, unless Azen minds going back." I felt my face grow hot under their stares. "Of course I don't mind! It wasn't a bad place, if a bit boring." Rowan grinned triumphantly. "Excellent! Let's go!" He gave a friendly wave goodbye and ran out, leaving us to follow him.

I stopped Seran outside. "Is he okay?" I whispered, slightly worried. Seran smiled at me, ruffling my hair. "He's fine. It's a good sign that he wants to do this, although I suspect the speed of his actions indicates his insecurity." I frowned angrily, furious with the bastard that hurt the kind Kerilin. "Crewe is a bastard. Why did he do that to Rowan?" Seran flinched, a scowl passing across his face. "Because he's with me." He said shortly, sprinting after his partner.

I ran as fast as I could, but they still had to slow down so I could catch up. Damn my short legs! Running took a lot of energy, but it was much faster, and we arrived at the portal building in less than twenty minutes. Rowan walked up to a little stone building with a locked door, but Seran caught him by the hand and dragged him a few meters away, speaking quietly so that I couldn't hear them. A few moments later they walked back over, Rowan looking a little calmer.

We stepped into the small building, and I remembered that it was the building I'd arrived in after my first trip in a portal. Incredible! I was heading back to the school. Would I see some of my younger friends, or maybe a teacher or two? "Seran?" I asked, "Why do they need a graduation ceremony? Why can't they just make an exception and give them mentors?" Seran frowned. "It's a long-held tradition. I probably would have done what you'd said, but I am the adviser of the human realm and it's peoples, not the adviser of education." I nodded thoughtfully. "You said you have the authority to come here!" He smiled gently. " I can come here, but I can't really change anything. I can investigate and observe, and that is enough!"

Seran activated the portal using a small paper rectangle, which he called an 'access slip', and stepped through, pulling Rowan along behind him. I grinned and followed them, excited to figure out what was going on with my old home. We appeared in another small stone building, stepping out into harsh sunshine. I noticed Rowan and Seran waiting for me, and I ran up by them. We walked through the gates, Seran nodding at the guards, and knocked on the headmaster's door.

A few moments later, we heard a latch unlock, and a tired face peer out. "Seran." He said distastefully, glancing at me. "What do you need?" Seran smiled smoothly, opening the door wider and stepping in. The headmaster opened his mouth to protest, but just ended up sighing and sitting in a chair. "I repeat myself, what is it this time, Seran?" he spat Seran's name out like it was poisonous, and I wondered why the Headmaster despised him.

Seran smiled again, a gleam entering his eye. "It's nice to see you too, Mekra." I clapped my hands over my mouth to hide the giggle, but it still came out, earning me a glare from the Headmaster. His name was Mekra? That wasn't something I'd expected! I didn't even think the instructors knew his name! Seran's smile grew more pronounced, and he ruffled my hair absentmindedly. "I heard that strange happenings have been around here. Impossible graduation ceremonies and whatnot."

The Headmaster sighed, seeming to sink into his chair. "That's true." He said venomously. "What does it have to do with you? I can take care of this!" Seran raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Then why haven't you?" The Headmaster scowled. "I know what I'm doing!" he spat, his voice rising. "We don't need your help, especially that traitorous bastard's!" He glared viciously at Rowan, but before Seran could hit him, I beat him to it.

I shot up, punching him full-on in the face with all of my strength, knocking him off the chair. "Shut up!" I yelled, filled with rage. "You have no idea what he's been through! He isn't a traitor, unlike you!" I punched him again, drawing blood. "It's you who is holding all of these kids back, isn't it?! Not him! He's suffered enough, and now you're hurting him worse! I can't forgive you for that, and I know Seran won't either! Rowan is one of the best people I've had the pleasure to meet, unlike your damn traitorous, jealous, bastard self!" I stood up quickly, kicking him before realizing what I'd done in front of my anti-violence mentor.

I looked up at Seran and Rowan, who were staring at me in shock. "Sorry!" I said, my voice unusually high-pitched. He looked at me, his shock melting into a surprisingly warm smile, and ruffled my hair. "It's nice to know you approve of him, and I appreciate you sticking up for him, but next time, we need the person we're questioning conscious, alright?" I frowned. "Conscious?" I turned around, examining the Headmaster. "Oops!" I muttered. I'd apparently knocked him out with the kick to the head.

I turned around again, seeing Rowan looking at the Headmaster with a sick expression on his face. "Is that what they really think of me?" He said softly. Seran frowned. "Of course not! He's just a bastard. I've tried to tell the Education Adviser that he isn't fit to teach children, but he didn't listen to me. Don't worry, no matter what anyone else thinks, I will be there for you." He ran his fingers through Rowan's hair comfortingly, and I piped up, "I'll be there too! Those idiots won't know what hit 'em!" He smiled at me. "Seran's taught you well, Azen." I smiled proudly. "I couldn't imagine a better mentor than him."

Seran blinked at me, his face breaking into a grin. "Aww, how sweet!" I felt my face grow red. "It's the truth! I'm not being sweet, just honest!" Rowan snickered, and I shot him a glare. "Whatever, can we just beat the truth outta him now?" Seran shook his head and began tying him up. "I think you were right, only he has the power to make those kids disappear. We are going to be polite first, and then we can beat it out of him if he refuses!" I nodded. "Alright..."

A few minutes, and a cup of cold veal, later, we were all standing around the bound Headmaster. "This is an outrage!" He spat, struggling. "This is illegal! I will have you arrested for this! You're attacking a member of the Alactras!" Seran's eyes narrowed. "I have the authority. Have you forgotten that I'm the third Adviser?" The Headmaster glared at him. "Of course I haven't forgotten! You are the third adviser, not fit to raise an apprentice! Especially after what happened to the last one, you unfeeling bastard!" Seran flinched, his eyes filling with guilt.

Rowan surprised us both by kicking Mekra in the jaw, knocking out a tooth. He at the Headmaster, furious. "You're hurting these kids by holding them back! You have no right to tell Seran he did something wrong! He cared about Tenrei, and I did too! It was a simple mistake, that's all. It was my fault, not his!" Both Seran and his kerilin looked distraught as the Headmaster laughed snidely. "A simple mistake that may happen again, with poor Azenvel! He was one of our brightest, and I had him assigned to one of the best mentors in the realm, but no. You had to step in and take him, bringing him into your dangerous world!"

I stared at them in shock. What were they talking about?! I was utterly confused. Seran had an apprentice years ago who died? And it was his fault? Seran had changed the files to assign me as his apprentice? Why?! And why me of all people? All of my internal questioning just confused me even more, so I focused back on the conversation. "Hah!" The Headmaster grinned. "You don't care about your apprentices, do you? You just want one to look good in front of others?"

I flinched. What?! That couldn't be right! Seran had always been so patient and calm, teaching me more than most demons would ever know. He seemed to genuinely care! "No!" Seran cried angrily, his eyes flashing, seeming to grow several shades darker with anger. "Rowan?" He said, suddenly calm. "Take Azen out to investigate, will you?" Rowan paused, and then nodded, "Of course. Be careful." he smiled worriedly, squeezing Seran's shoulder before guiding me out of the room.

We walked quietly to the auditorium, Rowan and I staring at the floor. "So." I said after a while. "You guys had an apprentice that died, huh?" Rowan flinched, making me feel bad. He was silent for a few moments, before a small, "Yeah." Was heard. I frowned, waiting for details. "He was a sweet kid..." Rowan said after a while, his voice sad. "He reminded me of my smaller twin." I frowned. "Twins?" He smiled softly. "Yeah, I had a couple of sweet little kids in the future. I stared dumbly at him. "What?" He smiled, laughing. "I travel through time, that is my Kerilin ability!"

"Oh yeah! I remember Seran mentioning that once!" I smiled, seeing Rowan's face brighten. We had finally arrived at the auditorium. We stepped inside, hearing our footsteps echo in the huge room. It could seat many thousands of people, and it was much bigger than it needed to be. We inspected every aspect of the auditorium, but found nothing incriminating. I walked over to Rowan. "Well, should we go talk to some kids?" He frowned. "I suppose so, I don't want to scare a kid though." I smiled. "I have a few younger friends here, we can talk to them!" Rowan thought for a moment. "Alright! Lead the way!"

We walked over to the dorms, Seran meeting us on the way, his shirt soaked with blood. Rowan almost had a panic attack when he saw all of the blood, and I backed away, freaked out. "What the hell?!" I managed to say, scared by my mentor's sudden violent torture of the Headmaster. Seran looked at us, and then went into the showers. I sat outside with Rowan, trying to calm him down. Ten minutes later, Seran walked out with wet hair and a dry instructor's uniform, his cloak tied around his waist. Rowan managed to grin at him "Looks good on you!" Seran snorted, pulling us up. "Whatever." he said, a smile tugging on his lips. "Lets get to those dorms!"

They followed me down the halls, as I knew the way best. It made me slightly nervous to be the one in the lead, but I was confident that I could do the job right. I stopped in dorm building three, hall 5, door 4. I knocked softly, hearing the groans of sleepy kids waking up. A messy-haired kid with light red eyes answered the door, blinking away sleep. "Yes?" He muttered questioningly, his eyes travelling up to my face. The sleepiness went away immediately.

"Azen!" He cried delightedly, hugging me hard. "Hey Brer!" I exclaimed, ruffling his soft blue hair. I heard multiple voices inside all talking at once. "Azen!" cried a high-pitched voice. "Shut up and go back to bed, he's kidding." A grumpy one grunted. "Really?" A last, calm voice inquired. I smiled and walked in. "Nope! It's me, no joke!" A red-haired demon the age of nine looked calmly at me. "Shouldn't you be with your mentor?" I smiled. "He's here! Seran? Rowan? Want to come in?"

As soon as they walked in, all of the kids fell silent, wide-eyed. "He's the third adviser!" The red-haired demon whispered in shock. "Yep! He isn't scary though. Kids, meet Seran and his kerilin, Rowan!" They all nodded solemnly, making Seran shake his head and smile. "Alright Rowan, Seran. This is Brer, a blue-haired energetic seven-year old." Brer nodded, accepting Seran's hand and shaking it. "This is Terhi, a red-haired, intelligent little guy of ten-er-eleven." Terhi shook Seran's proffered hand, smiling. "This is Orenec, a black-haired cocky little brat the age of eight." Orenec looked at Seran's hand grumpily, ignoring it and attaching himself to my leg, making me smile. "And this," I finished, motioning to the smallest one, "Is Kenlaes, a dark-green haired sweet little boy of five, Ken for short." Ken walked shyly up to Rowan, accepting his hand and clumsily shaking it.

Seran ruffled Ken's hair, looking at me. "What a strange little group we have here! Where did you meet them?" I smiled at all of them. "I was the first in this dorm, they all were assigned here a few weeks after I was. I think they had forgotten that they had assigned me here, because there are only supposed to be for in a room, and ours had five. Ken, being a sweet little guy, let me sleep in his bed with him." Seran looked at all of the little kids. "Well, they all seem very attached to you!" I chuckled, ruffling Orenec's raven hair, who was still attached to my leg.

"I was the oldest, I suppose. Now Terhi is the oldest. Speaking of that..." I turned my eyes over each of them individually. "Are you all listening to Terhi?" They all nodded, except Brer, who pointed sulkily to Orenec. "He isn't!" Oren detached himself from my leg, his eyes flashing with anger. "You started it!" he cried. Brer shook his head violently. "You hit first!" Oren scowled. "Only because you stole my stone!" I grabbed Oren, throwing him onto the bed, and picked up Brer. "No fighting!" I snapped, tossing him over to Oren. "Shake hands." When they did nothing, I walked over to them severely. "Now!" I said darkly, looming over them.

They immediately shook hands, Brer wincing as Orenec crushed his hand, earning a swatting from me. "Be nice you two!" I looked up, startled, as Seran started laughing hard, Rowan trying to keep from smirking. I blinked. I'd forgotten they were there! I stuck my tongue out at Seran and stuffed Brer, Oren, and Ken back into their beds, ignoring their protests. "Hush! Go back to sleep, you have classes in the morning! I need to speak to Terhi. Sleep!" I pulled Terhi out of the room into the hallway, sitting him down by Seran and Rowan.

"What is it?" asked the ruby-haired demon in a soft voice. I looked at Seran, who was watching me expectantly. I took a deep breath and looked back at Terhi. "You are supposed to graduate this year, correct? A week ago, right?" Terhi nodded. "Yes, I turned eleven last week, when the graduation ceremony was supposed to occur. "What happened?" I asked inquisitively. "Why didn't it happen?" He frowned, eyes closed. "We supposedly disappeared. I don't remember a thing, I was sitting in the dorm, kind of nervous, and then I blacked out, waking up in the same spot!"

I cast a despaired glance at Seran, who shrugged. "You don't remember anything?" He shook his head, looking sadly at me. "No, I'm sorry Azen!"I smiled at him, hugging him and pulling him up. "It's fine! Go to sleep, and we will figure this out and make it so that you can graduate!" I walked him inside, and he caught my arm before slipping into bed. "Azen...?" he asked softly. "Yes?" I replied back, curious. "You've changed. It's not bad, but you have. Just don't forget us, alright? If you ever need our help, even little Ken would do anything for you." I blinked, surprised. I felt a warmth spread through my chest, and I hugged him again. "I know. Thank you, Terhi. Goodbye!"

I walked back out to Rowan and Seran, feeling the tiniest bit sad about leaving my friends behind, but that evaporated as I followed my mentor and his kerilin outside into the cool night air. "Alright guys," Seran said, "I picked up a huge burst of power from the basement. Down we go!" We walked into another building and entered a closet, going down into steps I'd never known were there, into a basement. We walked down cautiously, Seran in front, Rowan behind him, and I in the back.

The ground was hard and unforgiving, some type of gray stone, and candles lit the walls, casting a fiendish glow over the moist rock. We eventually reached the bottom, entering a brightly-lit room with purple walls and a gray carpeted floor. There were a few full bookcases, and stacks of books teetered everywhere. Tables and chairs were placed half-hazardly, littered with candles, books, parchments, and writing utensils. There was a smaller section, much neater, with vials full of chemicals and ingredients. The most sickening part was the metal cages. Clean and large or not, three kids were still locked away.

We looked around, examining it for the person behind all this, but found nothing until we heard a slight choking noise behind us. We whirled around and gasped. Orenec! He was kicking, being held up by a tall demon with electric-blue hair and crazy- but intelligent- eyes, a knife held against his throat. How had Oren gotten here?! Had he followed us?! "No..." I whispered, feeling my eyes fill with tears. "Let him go!" I cried, trying to run forward but being restrained by Rowan. Seran stepped up, eyes menacing. "Would you please let our little friend go?"

The demon smiled, and I noticed his eyes were yellow, just like Crewe's! Seran inhaled sharply when he saw the eyes, but he was quickly back under control. "Nope!" The demon said in a sing-song voice. Oren was scared, his dark red eyes wide and filled with fear. Oren could be an annoying, cocky brat, but he was still my little friend! I kicked out of Rowans hold and pulled out a hidden throwing dagger, catching the demon directly in his yellow left eye. He cried out and dropped Orenec, who I grabbed and pulled back to Seran and Rowan.

The demon snarled menacingly, pulling out both a wicked sharp knife and a syringe. "Alright," Seran said. "If you have a choice, let him get you with the knife. I'm going to fight." He lunged forward without a word more, immediately becoming a blur of weaponry. To my surprise, Rowan looked very calm and was watching interestedly. "Aren't you worried?" I inquired, letting Oren attach himself to me. "No," Rowan replied, grinning. "Seran is the second best fighter in both realms!" I frowned. "Who's first?" Rowan's smile faltered. "Crewe."


	25. (semi-)Winning with Luck

As suddenly as the fight had started, it stopped. We rushed over to Seran, who was bleeding in multiple places, as well as having two pinpricks of blood. We looked apprehensively at the crazy demon, who was on one knee, panting and clutching his knife with a bloodstained hand. "Are you okay?!" I heard Rowan ask Seran. "I'm alright," Seran replied, breathing heavily, "For now." Rowan looked worried. "What do you mean 'for now'?" Seran motioned to the pinpricks with a slight smile. "The freak stabbed me twice with the syringe, and was able to get a fourth of the dosage into me. Who knows what it'll do?"

Rowan looked sickened, and I quickly picked Orenec up, searching him for marks but finding none. "I need to get him back. Do you need my help before I go return him?" Seran shook his head absentmindedly. "Wait at the top of the stairs if you arrive before we finish." He looked at my moody expression seriously. "Do you understand, Azenvel?" I flinched, nodding. Seran almost never called me by my full name, so it had to be important.

I attempted to detach Oren from my leg, but the little, stubborn kid refused, leaving me no choice but to drag him along. When we arrived at the top of the stairs, the little bastard released his hold on my leg, scampering a few feet ahead. "Get back over here!" I called angrily, wondering how stupid the kid was to wander off after almost being killed- or worse. He walked back over, slouching so that his dark hair fell over his eyes, making me shiver as I recalled Crewe doing a very similar thing.

I set a hand on his shoulder, making sure he couldn't run off, and then started heading back to the dorm building. Orenec suddenly stiffened, looking up at the sky with wide eyes. "It's nighttime!" He breathed, his wide eyes scanning the beautiful dots of light in the darkened sky. I blinked, and then hugged him close. "Poor guy, never seen the stars? I had nearly forgotten how strict this place was, especially the nighttime policies!" Oren looked at me sadly.

"We all miss you, Azen!" He hugged me, his small arms barely wrapping around my body. "Come back! Nobody else likes me as much as you..." He pleaded, making my heart hurt. "I can't, Oren... I wish I could, but I can't!" An idea suddenly came to me, and I grinned at him. "Okay Oren, I have an idea, but I have to clear it with Terhi and Seran first." He nodded quickly, his eyes brightening. "Thank you Azen!" He paused suddenly smile fading into a rebellious frown. "Why do we have to clear it with Terhi?" He said the name almost like the Headmaster had Seran's, like it was poison.

I stared at him, shocked. "What's wrong with Terhi?" I asked, thinking about the calm, fair, intelligent boy with blood-red hair. Orenec scowled, "I don't like him! He's strict, and mean, and never lets me have any fun!" I frowned, starting to feel worried. "Oren, I told you before I left! Terhi was the oldest, so he was your new dorm-leader-" Oren yanked my arm from his shoulder, stepping back with his eyes smoldering. "No!" He yelled violently, "You're the leader! You were the leader, and you left us! Now you're back, and you're gonna' leave us again!" His eyes filled with tears, and I suddenly understood.

I smiled softly, ruffling his hair. "I'm sorry Oren, I had to go! You'll see... You're eight, right?" He looked at me sullenly. "S'posed to turn nine last week. It was postponed until the graduation ceremony happened." I smiled at him. "So that means, in about two years, you'll be right up there with me, learning from a mentor!" He looked at me, his eyes suddenly wide and scared. "Don't worry!" I smiled, "You'll have a nice mentor, I'll make sure of it!" He shook his head violently, whispering, "Behind..." I whirled around just in time to see a knife slash right where my head had been before Oren had pulled me away.

"No..." I whispered, staring in horror at the electric-blue haired demon. The only reason he'd be here was if Seran had... Seran! "What did you do to my mentor?" I said shakily, ushering Orenec behind me. "Hah!" The crazy demon spat, his eyes seeming to grin. "I did nothing! It was my mentor!" I paused, suddenly confused. "You seem too old for a mentor!" I said, taking an unobtrusive step back.

He smiled then, a smile that made my blood run cold. He was crazy! Insane! He reminded me of... of the demon who had suddenly appeared two-dozen meters away, his blood-spattered face covered by his messy red hair, which had fallen over his eyes. He brushed the hair out of his line of sight, revealing two glowing yellow irises of light. Crewe. I took a few steps back involuntarily, his presence making me want to cower, but I stood strong instead, sneering at him.

"This is your apprentice?" I said to Crewe. "You need to take him back, he was damaged when you bought him! Head issues, I think!" The thin-faced demon apprentice snarled, pulling out another knife, but was quickly restrained by Crewe, who was, shockingly enough, smiling kindly at his apprentice. He almost looked like a normal mentor right then, helping his apprentice, but that soon disappeared, along with his softness.

He sneered back at me, twirling a knife with a chunk of twirled white-brown stuff on it. As he stepped closer, I realized the psychopath had cut off a chunk of Seran's and Rowan's hair, tying it to his hilt. What had he done to them?! "Don't pay attention to Azen," Crewe said, slowly advancing. "Children aren't exactly known for true words and intelligent opinions!" he swung his knife at me, and I ducked quickly, but was knocked off my feet by a slash of light in the dust below me, sending me tumbling to the ground, nearly squashing Oren.

"Ooh?" Seran suddenly examined Orenec, looking him up and down. "Who do we have here? A child out here? In the night?" He tutted, bending down and picking up Oren by his collar, laughing cruelly as Oren started kicking and punching, eyes dark with hatred and a tiny bit of fear. "Let me go!" He yelled loudly, swinging wild punches, "Don't hurt Azen! Or me!" Crewe laughed again, snidely. "Hmm, and you're going to make me?"

I struggled to my feet, my fists balled at my sides. "Let him go." I said quietly, eyes flashing. Crewe smirked. "Or what?" I stood there for several seconds, unable to come up with a good reply. "You can't even think of a simple comeback?" He asked softly, eyes on Oren, who was now spitting out...very colorful... curses, and grinned. "I like this one!" Crewe said with enthusiasm that scared me. "He has spirit, wit, intelligence... He truly reminds me of myself as I child!"

I shivered; he had so much honesty in his voice! What if... What if Oren turned out like Crewe? I wouldn't be able to forgive myself for letting that happen! The more I thought about it, the more I realized how unstable Oren was. He had an uncontrollable temper, he only had respect for a few people, he didn't mind hurting others, he was strong for his age, and extremely cocky, he was very quick-thinking and intelligent, and he had a semi-twisted moral compass.

"I think he'd make a good apprentice!" Crewe said suddenly, eyes locked on Oren's suddenly fearful face. "No you don't" I spat vehemently. "No way in hell I'm letting you take my little friend!" Crewe's eyebrows shot up. "Mm, you think you can stop me?" I was about to answer 'maybe', when he spoke again, eyes glinting. "Here's a deal, if you can beat Tazerl, you can keep this little guy!" I frowned, pointing to his electric-blue haired apprentice. "He's Tazerl?" Crewe nodded with a smirk. I thought it over for a minute, and then looked at Crewe directly.

"Will this be a fair fight?" I asked, "If I use my two daggers, will he use two daggers too?" Crewe thought for a minute. "I suppose so. Give me your chemicals, poisons, and reagents." He said, speaking to his slightly-crestfallen apprentice. Tazerl turned to me, hatred in his eyes. "Go!" Crewe said, sitting down and holding the yelling, struggling Orenec tightly.

I dodged immediately, the first slash of the knife falling just past my shoulder, and then ducked and rolled, feeling more slashes miss by a hair. I turned, counterattacking with my twin blades, pushing him back for a moment before he advanced again. A swirl of air spun past my right ear, making me involuntarily turn the other way. Tazerl's eyes glittered, realizing he had an opening. He stuck, but I managed to turn so that it barely clipped my shoulder, making a tiny slice.

I slashed in a large X with my blades, giving me an opening as he unsuccessfully attacked my defensive movement. I moved in quickly, stabbing him in the stomach with one dagger, leaving my other free to block his knives. I moved back quickly, tripping him with my leg accidentally as he tried to step forward. I smiled at my good luck as I kicked him hard in the side of the head. That was for Seran! I kicked him again, harder. That was for Rowan! I kicked his ribs, hearing one possibly fracture. That was for Orenec!

I stepped back, barely injured as he lay on the ground, bleeding and in agony. "That was almost too easy!" I muttered quietly, stepping back just as I saw Tazerl grin in triumph, and light blinded my eyes. Dammit! I had forgotten that he had light powers, just like Crewe! I saw another blinding flash of light, and felt a huge, almost unbearable pain rip through my arm. I gasped, staggering backwards as I felt my shirt quickly saturate with blood.

Another flash of light appeared, slashing lower, rending my lower leg open. I cried out, falling to my knees. The pain... It was terrible. That light somehow intensified it, and I realized I had first and second-degree burns on my leg, but not my arm. I collapsed onto the ground, and cried out as another huge slash was carved into my back, huge and deep, but not burned. I was able to keep from crying and screaming, my pride was that much, but if it continued, I'd soon be begging.

"Damn you..." I muttered, my eyes glazed over with pain. I hazily noticed his smirk, and I laughed painfully. "I'll never let you take Oren... He isn't like you bastards, he can be sweet and kind, even if he is usually a brat." I suddenly heard a noise. Oren had started crying! He had never cried before, he was a proud, strong little guy! I rose to my feet, staggering, blood flowing as I began feeling weak. I staggered towards Tazerl, who had something clenched in his hand.

He threw a handful of powder at me, and as he did, his eyes opened wide, stricken with that 'what have I just done?!" look. The powder hit me, but instead of hitting my flesh and falling off, it was sticking to me and burning. Demons were somewhat heat-resistant, as they can stick their hand in a fire and not feel hot, but this was different. The powder burned into my skin, eating away my flesh and sinking ever deeper. I sank to the ground again, screaming in spite of my mind willing me, however unsuccessfully, to stop. I heard Oren's sobs increase, and I stopped moving.

The pain was unbearable, and I fell into a trancelike state, almost an out-of-body experience. I saw Crewe stand up, deadly silent and calm. His eyes gave away his true emotions, however; they were dark, blood-red pools of white fury; cold anger that make me want to run as far away as possible, and I could tell Tazerl wanted to, as well. "I... I'm sorry, Crewe!" he stammered, eyes wide with fear. "I forgot to give that one to y..you, and through habit... h..habit.. I threw it at him..." Crewe turned to me, eyes filled with fury.

"My young apprentice cheated, and I don't lie." He said, voice calm, but thick with hidden anger. "You get the kid back, Azenvel. Just remember the next time we meet. Remember the agony of today." He grabbed Tazerl by the throat, dragging him away. He sat Oren down, surprisingly gentle, and slashed his hand through the air, opening up a small portal and pushing his apprentice through. He turned to me and bowed, his hair covering his eyes, and then smirked, stepping into the portal.

The pain was starting to grow again. I was once again holding back screams as the pain took over. I barely noticed when Orenec ran over, shaking me and crying. He eventually ran away, leaving me to float between conscious and unconscious. I numbly noticed Terhi's shocked cry as he saw me. I must've been quite a mess, covered in blood and burns, holes still being eaten through my body by the powdered acidic material.

I vaguely noticed a few instructors running over, and as they picked me up, I cried out from the pain, but cut it short. I wasn't a weakling. One instructor carried me off, and I saw one questioning Orenec, only to run off towards the basement. I heard myself, as if through veal. I giggled slightly, a little out of touch from the agony. "Mr. Levra!" I heard myself mutter, still giggling. "So nice to see you again!" Then I passed out fully, my loss of blood too much. Yep, I was delirious.


	26. Cuts, Burns, and Beatings

Hey guys! Just to let you know, I rewrote chapter one. It's much better now, if you want to check it out! Chapters might start decreasing in speed, as I'm thinking of starting a third story on fictionpress, so sorry for that. Happy reading!

-Kasimyr

Consciousness came slowly. I first heard shallow breathing next to me, then I was able to smell herbs and fire, my senses came back one by one, except my sense of feel. Was I floating in lukewarm veal? I opened my eyes and focused on a man sitting by my bed; Seran. My bed? I glanced down and saw soft white sheets, sheets that I couldn't feel. "Seran?" I asked, slightly slurred, unable to feel my own tongue. "Why can't I feel anything?" He jolted up, looking at me. "Azen!" He cried, seeming relieved. "You're finally awake!"

I frowned, confused. "Of course I'm awake! What happ..." It hit me suddenly, the memories of the previous night at the school. The damn blue-haired bastard had cheated! He'd thrown acidic powder at me! I felt panic surge through my body. Had the acid destroyed my nerves?! Was that why I couldn't feel anything?! Seran laid a hand on my unfeeling shoulder., hushing me. "It's alright Azen, you're okay. We anesthesiated you so that you wouldn't be in pain."

I looked away, scowling. "Are my injuries that bad?" Seran paused, and then nodded. "Your cuts and bruises are healing alright, it's just that acidic powder." I frowned, worry coursing through me. "What about them?" Seran looked down at the floor. "They're still in you, burning a hole." I panicked, beginning to thrash a little. "I...In me!?" I muttered, terrified. He hushed me again, pushing me back onto the bed. "That's why we anesthesiated you, Azen. Calm down, the acidic powder is about halfway through. It'll be out in a few days!" I glared at Seran. "Days?!"

He winced, "Yes, Azen. A few days is the best we can do. We are unable to take the powder out. There are hundreds of particles, and your skin where the powder entered has healed, concealing the exact locations of the acid." I took a shuddering breath and turned around. "Whatever." I muttered, feeling sick. "Wake me up in a few days." I heard Seran's hand brush my shoulder, but felt nothing.

I woke up with a start a few hours later. I glanced over in time just to see a bright portal appear out of nowhere, and two people appear. Crewe and Tazerl. "What the hell do you want?!" Seran yelled, eyes furious. Crewe scowled at the electric-blue headed demon apprentice. "My young apprentice here cheated during the fight between him and Azen." Crewe handed a bottle of teal liquid to Seran. "Pouring this over the kid will destroy the acid, leaving him unharmed."

Seran looked at him, puzzled. "Why are you doing this?!" Crewe scowled again at Tazerl. "He cheated, after I vouched for him. He will get his punishment, but I still needed to right the wrong." Seran frowned. "How do I know you're telling the truth?" Crewe glanced at him, exasperated. "I never lie." Seran smirked. "Oh yeah! Your pride is much too powerful for a lie." Crewe nodded, eyes locked on his apprentice, and then grinned at me.

Crewe pulled out a small, strange-looking object. "This is Tazerl's punishment!" I immediately felt sick again. He was going to do it here? I turned away, but I still heard the sound of a button pressed, and Tazerl's screams as he collapsed to the ground. I heard Seran gasp and run over to the screaming kid, his heart too soft for leaving any kid, Alactras or not, in pain. A few screams later, I chanced a glance over.

Tazerl was curled into a ball on the floor, panting slightly and desperately trying not to cry. Seran was sitting by him, looking furious and stricken. "Leave, Crewe!" He said thunderously, standing up. Crewe smirked. "Alright, my dues have been paid. Come on, Tazerl." Crewe held out a hand, which the pained blue-haired apprentice accepted, standing with pained, but determined, eyes. Tazerl smirked at me as Crewe slashed a portal open, and I heard his voice in my mind. /" We'll fight again, Azen, and next time it'll be worse. I'll make you pay for the pain I just suffered."/ They stepped into the portal, which snapped shut behind them.

Seran was staring, stony-faced, at where the portal disappeared. A horrible thought struck me, and I desperately hoped I was wrong. "Seran? Where is Rowan?" He winced, scowling at the floor. "In bed, healing." I gave a sigh of relief. He wasn't taken again! Seran walked over, uncorking the bottle Crewe had given him. "Wait, you're actually going to use it?!" I asked, laughing nervously and scooting back. "Yes, Crewe is many things, but he doesn't lie. He's very prideful, and his pride keeps him from lying and cheating." I frowned. "Alright, Seran."

He poured a slight amount over a section of my chest, and it sunk into my skin. I yelped and wiggled as I suddenly began to itch, and a shooting pain went through me. "Ouch!" I complained, gasping suddenly as the rest of my body began to burn from the inside. I could feel it eating through my flesh, burning and destroying me from inside. I gritted my teeth as Seran upended the bottle over me. I itched all over for a moment as it sunk through, and then all of the burning pain disappeared, leaving me shivering and aching.

"What's up with that damned apprentice of his?!" I said vehemently, " Who carries stuff like that around in his pocket?!" Seran smiled. "Tazerl, obviously! Would you like to see something?" Seran walked out for a moment, and then stepped back in a moment later, tossing a few sheets of paper at me. "What is it?" I asked curiously, examining the papers. "Tazerl's file." He replied absentmindedly, going through a different file. "Does everyone have a file?" I asked, a little suspicious. "Yeah." He muttered, reading. I sighed, looking at the file in my lap.

File #47668 Updated 65/83t5/092 by Ureja Lealv

Name: Tazerl Desrihk

Age:19

Appearance: Unusually tall, tan, electric-blue hair of unbrushed medium length, yellow eyes

Typical Clothing: Gray shirt, brown trousers, brown boots, dark red Veren-style cloak

Occupation: Apprentice (See Acquaintances)

Personality: Condescending, vicious, overconfident, intelligent

Affiliation: Veren

Acquaintances of note: Crewe – Mentor, Lord Kaern - Unknown

Power: CHANGED- Light

Strength Assessment: Physical-6, Mental-9, Light-?

Mental State: Unstable (Possibly because of Crewe's involvement, see file #5873)

Information (Extracted from multiple Veren): Tazerl Desrihk was found on a rock wearing the appearance-clothes, by a Veren demon of the name Hersec Feveel, and was brought to the Veren palace. He was given the name of Reves Terset and assigned to Keret Genwik, but Crewe noticed the child's potential and stepped in, renaming him Tazerl Desrihk and taking him from Keret.

Crewe trained the child from finding, and is still currently training him. Tazerl seems to be powerful with the Veren light ability, and while he can be overconfident, is much stronger than most his age and experience, most likely from Crewe's unknown training tactics. It is thought that painful discipline is involved, but unconfirmed. Tazerl seems to have an unusual attachment to chemistry, and keeps a belt of chemicals and glass tubes at all times. He has written many books on chemistry, (See book evidence #7253683), which are past typical apprentice-level.

Conclusion: Tazerl is a dangerous individual with powerful allies. Be wary of him and his mentor, immediate neutralization is advised, but hypothesized to be difficult.

I looked up from the file, pondering all that I'd just learned. I had the entire life of a demon in my hands, in just a few sheets of paper. One with information, two with pictures. It seemed incredible to have somebody's past and abilities sitting in my hands, but I did. I examined it again; his personality seemed accurate as to what I'd seen so far. Painful discipline? I'd just seen it! Confirmed. I glanced over to Seran, who was still staring at another file. "Who's file is that?" I asked. Seran looked up, startled. "Hm? Oh, Crewe's. I was curious." I smiled. "Where did you get these?"

Seran shrugged. "The Archives. I was just given access today by the Lord." I tilted my head, puzzled. "Why today?" Seran sighed. "I have no idea. I'm a bit worried now, but I can't do anything about it now. I'm going to go check on Rowan, would you like to come?" I grinned. "Yeah!" I hopped out of bed and crumpled to my knees. "Woah!" Seran snickered. "You've been in bed nearly a week, silly." He gripped my elbow and pulled me up, and I wobbled to my feet. "Let's go!"

We stepped into a hall with gray floors and white walls, lined with closed doors. Was this the demon's main healing area? I'd never been, so I supposed so. We walked a few doors to the left, and Seran knocked. There was no answer, so he twisted the knob, but paused, glancing back at me. "Azen, he isn't doing very well. I don't know if you want to see this." I shrugged, smirking at him. "If his lover can handle it, I can." Seran rolled his eyes and opened the door, walking in.

The room was plain, exactly like the one I'd been. White walls, gray carpet, a small white table, and a white and gray bed. Boring and smelling of various herbs... and unlike mine, blood. I walked closer, and gasped slightly. "What happened?!" I choked out, glancing at Seran, who was staring sadly at his partner.

Rowan wasn't lying on the bed, but suspended by straps over it, his head resting on a pillow, eyes closed. He was shirtless, so it was easy to see why. His entire body, mostly his back, was covered in hundreds of cuts, some short and shallow, some deep and long. The right side of his body was covered in burns, some obviously chemical. His fingers were all broken in at least two places, and one leg was broken, the other covered in second-degree burns. His face was slashed and burned as well, but his hair and eyes were untouched. Looking closer, I could see huge bruises scattered, most on the ribs or arms; he'd obviously been beaten as well as cut and burned.

"What happened?" I repeated faintly, feeling sick. I turned away from Rowan, unable to stand it, and looked into Seran's teary red eyes. I walked up to him and hugged him, pulling him away and out the door. We went to my room and sat on my bed, Seran quiet and staring off into the distance.

"When you left, I tied the little bastard up. I was in the middle of interrogating Tazerl about the disrupted graduations when Crewe appeared behind me, knocking me off my feet. I fought back, but it was brief, and I was off-balance and outmatched. Crewe chained me to the wall, and went for Rowan. He fought well, but there was no helping it, Rowan had no chance. Crewe seemed to think for a moment, and then grinned that damned grin of his. He tied Rowan's arms to a hook in the ceiling, then began torturing him ruthlessly; Crewe's specialty. He forced me to watch, saying that he'd just force Rowan to scream louder if I closed my eyes." Seran sighed softly, squeezing his eyes shut and running a hand through his hair. "I don't think I've ever begged and cried so much in my life." He whispered softly, leaving me unsure as to if I was supposed to hear it or not.

I clenched my fists, hatred for the blood-haired demon coursing through me. That bastard had no right to destroy Rowan. He had no right to lay a single finger on the sweet Kerilin! I resolved to beat the hell out of him the next time we met, realistic or not. Crewe was going to regret ever huring Seran and Rowan, I would make sure of it.

Seran composed himself, opening his red, calm eyes and smiling at me. "It'll be fine, Rowan has healed a lot in the past week!" I saw a flash of pain cross his eyes, but it was gone quickly. "Is there anything I can do, Seran?" I asked softly. He shook his head and patted the pillow. "Just go to sleep, you'll need the energy." The last thing I saw was Seran's sad eyes as he gently poked the needle into my arm, sending me into unconsciousness once again.


	27. New, or Old?

I came back into consciousness slowly, like drifting through veal. The bed was soft and warm, and while I didn't want to get up, I also didn't feel like falling back asleep. I stayed there for what seemed like hours, my eyes shut, and breathing slowly, feeling comfortable and calm. I heard a creak as the door opened, and footsteps as they entered. I peeked through one half-closed eye, and then opened them fully. It was Seran! "Why did you stab me with that needle?" I asked angrily. He smiled, and walked over. "They had to operate on you, and I thought you'd appreciate being knocked out." I sighed, "That would have been nice to know, but thanks."

Seran chuckled, ruffling my hair. "You've been out for a week or so, actually. I injected a little too much..." I stiffened, rolling my eyes. "I take back half of my thanks." Seran grinned, an eyebrow raised. "Just half?" I nodded, smirking. "So how is Rowan?" Seran's smile faltered a bit. "He's doing... better. He can go home tomorrow, but he's confined to the bed, alright?" I nodded dutifully, smiling on the outside, but burning with fury on the inside. How _Dare_ Crewe hurt Rowan!My mentor's partner! He was technically my second mentor!

I slid out of bed, wobbling slightly as my legs adjusted to being out of bed, and walked out after Seran. We walked down the hall and into the same room, we had before. Unlike last time, however, Rowan wasn't suspended above the bed; his burns must have mostly healed. Instead, his sheets were a soft blue, and I could feel the cold a few feet away. He looked much better now, most of his wounds faded to scars; and best of all, he was awake. "Hi Rowan!" I said, taking a hesitant step closer. "How are you?" He set down his book, smiling at me. "Hi! I'm feeling fine, thanks for asking! I heard that Seran drugged you a bit too much, how are _you?__"_

I smiled, "I'm feeling great!" Rowan chuckled slightly, grinning at Seran. "Nice job Seran! He finally slept for a healthy amount of time! Well... a bit too much, actually. Eight to eleven hours is recommended." I snickered, punching Seran jokingly on the shoulder, who rolled his eyes. He glanced at Rowan, who was smiling, and frowned. "Hey Azen, can you go grab my knife? I can't remember if I left it in your room, or my room. Can you search both?" I nodded, running out and sprinting down the hall.

He snuck back down a few moments later, his bare feet making almost no noise. Did Seran think he was stupid? It was obviously a plot to get him out of the room! I didn't like being left out of things. I set my ear close to the door, silent, listening intently. I could hear quiet talking inside, and what sounded like muffed crying. Frustrated, I closed my eyes and concentrated on hearing alone. No matter what I did, I couldn't hear anything clearly, so I walked back down the hall in search of the missing knife.

Ten minutes of pointless searching later, I walked back down the empty, white-and-gray hall, and into Rowan's room. "I can't find it!" Seran frowned, pretending to think for a moment, and then smacked his forehead. "Oh yeah! I'm sorry Azen, I forgot I left it under Rowan's pillow!" I rolled my eyes at the blatant lie, flopping down on a chair. "So, what are we going to do next? I asked, mildly curious. "I'm going after Crewe," Seran said forcefully, "To make him pay. You two are going to our base, and Azen, you're going to protect Rowan."

I nodded, but Rowan scowled, glaring daggers at Seran. "I said no! He's too powerful for you!" Seran scowled. "I don't need your permission! He hurt you, so I'm going to beat that bastard into the ground!" Rowan's eyes sprang with furious tears. "I refuse to allow you to get hurt on my account! That would hurt more than any wound!" Seran frowned sadly. "I'm going." He said shortly, "Now." He spun out of the room, storming out, eyes dull.

Rowan's eyes widened, and he jumped out of bed, immediately collapsing to the floor. I rushed over to him, picking him up and placing him back under his sheets. "No!" He said, fighting weakly. "He's...he's... going to... he has no chance..." I nodded. "Stay here. I'll go get him, and if that doesn't work, I'll go with him." Rowan looked at me, shocked. "No way! Then both of you will be hurt!" I grinned. "Nah, I'll just calm Seran down and try to make him see some sense. Alright?" Rowan paused, and then nodded. "Just... be careful." I nodded, stepping out of the room.

I walked down the hall, quickly pulling on a decent shirt, trousers, and traveling cloak, strapping my daggers to my belt and bulling on my boots. I set after Seran, sprinting down the hall and outside. Now, which direction did he go in? Where did Crewe live? The human realm! I ran towards the human portal, just in time to see Seran slip through. Setting off an extra burst of speed, I sailed through, just barely getting in before it closed.

I landed as quietly as possible, laying flat as Seran dusted off ahead, beginning to climb out of the gully. I followed him from afar, staying off the roads and in the forest, trying to avoid being seen. Seran glanced back many times, but I was always out of sight. It took many hours of intense traveling, but we finally made it to a large plain, a tiny stone house nestled in a dip in the rough yellow-green earth. Just before I walked out to meet Seran, somebody caught me from behind, pressing a hand to my mouth.

I whirled around to see a young-looking... person. He was tall and thin, with a pale face, flattened dark black hair, and gradiented eyes. His eyes were unlike any Veren or Alactras I'd ever seen, so I knew he wasn't a demon. They were deep black at the top of the iris, and faded to a gray at the bottom. He was wearing the strangest clothing I'd ever seen, a black shirt made of weird, soft material, and rough dark blue pants. Even stranger, there was a weird object around his neck, red and black with two soft, large ends. A wire, like from Seran's underground 'computer' ran from the object into his thin pocket.

The most important detail was that he was holding me against my will. I easily wriggled out of his grip, sliding a knife out of my pocket. He stared impassibly at me. "Do not get involved, Azenvel. It's not your place." I scowled, tightening my grip on the silvery hilt. "How do you know my name?" He gave a ghost of a smile. "I know everybody's name." I smirked. "Yeah right." He sighed, running a hand through his hair, messing it up. "I don't care what you think, I'm just making sure you don't get involved."

I blinked. _What's up with this freak? _I smiled slightly. "Why do you care?" He chuckled lightly. "We become friends in the future, along with your to-be partner. If you walked in there right now, you'd come out blind. I don't want that to happen, so I'm doing something rare; changing history." I scowled. "You're insane." He smiled lightly. "I know." Glancing back at the now-empty field, I decided to believe this freak. There was just something about him...

"You know my name," I said, "So it's fair that I know yours. Who are you?" He grinned slightly, fingering the strange object around his neck. "There is no 'fairness' in this world, dear Azenvel, but alright. I don't have a name in the way you think of, but most call me The Seer, The Prophet, Fate's brother... and The Cursed one." I frowned. "That's quite a few names for one person." The Seer snickered suddenly, madness flashing through his previously emotionless eyes. "I'm not just one person, Azenvel. I am everybody and nobody." I scowled, confused.

"Whatever. What's that thing around your neck?" The Seer smiled, pulling a gray, thin, rectangular, object with a black... screen, out of his pocket, handing it to me. He pulled the red and black thing off of him, placing it on me so the large, soft things were over my ears, connected by plastic that went over my head. That must've been why his hair was so flat! I remembered the book Seran had made me read about 'technology', from the future, that Rowan had written.

The small, gray object was a bit longer than my finger, a few centimeters wide, and one centimeter thick. It was all a silvery-gray, except a black screen that took up half of one side, and a little white circle with a button in the middle. I pressed the button experimentally, too used to Seran's computers to flinch when the white light flicked on, black English words boldly appearing against the background. I touched the circle, but nothing happened. I tried a different side of the circle, my finger brushing against it.

The blue highlight on the top word moved down, surprising me. I touched the white circle lightly, moving my finger in a circle. The blue highlight scrolled down. I moved my finger the other way, causing it to scroll back up. Interesting, but what was the point? I scrolled down a few, to one that read 'Otherside' and pressed the middle button. I jumped, startled, as I heard voices in my ears; a human singing with music in the background. Incredible! Looking down at the screen, it had transformed into a picture of orange clouds swirling in a hole in the ground, a strange blue sky above it. How interesting! A timer was counting down from 5:24, and I assumed that was how long that song would play.

Unwilling to wait five minutes, I pressed against the wheel again, but instead of changing the song, it made it unbearably loud. I quickly pressed the other way, turning it to a reasonable volume and smiling. This thing was incredible! I pushed hard against the right side of the wheel, and it switched songs. It was now on, 'Basket Case'. Grinning, I pressed the right button again, changing it to 'Let's kill tonight'. I listened to the song, awe growing in me. This thing was incredible! I didn't want to, but I handed it back to the Seer.

"That's incredible! It's from the future, right?" I asked. The Seer smiled. "Kind of. I'm not a time traveler, you see, but I know the future. I was able to make it using techniques from the future." I grinned happily. "Damn! That's an impress-" I was cut off by a scream from Seran, which, while it only lasted a moment before it was cut off, stopped me in my tracks. I scrambled up, ashamed to have forgotten my mentor, and sprinted towards the stone building.

I skidded around the corner, throwing open the door only to find it empty. "What the hell?" I muttered, glancing around. I spotted an open hatch in the corner and grinned. I walked over, looking down only to see light. Just light. Taking a deep breath, I stood and jumped, plunging into the unnerving light below.


	28. Sanity

I landed hard, crashing into the hard, white tiled floor with force. _Ouch!_ I stood, glancing around. I was in a cubic room with whitewashed walls, clean white tile, and no ceiling. Looking above, I could see only light, pure white light shining in. I squinted, glaring at the walls. _Now, where is Seran? That idiot is always getting into throuble with Crewe..._I glanced behind me, seeing a doorway of pure light. _Ugh..._ I stepped through the doorway, feeling myself flung through space, and crashing down in another room, this time managing to keep my balance.

This new room was different, a large gray rectangular room lit by large torches, stone floors and walls. At the other end of the room, I could see Crewe chained to the wall behind him, Seran crumpled to his knees in front of the ruby-haired bastard. _What the hell? This makes no sense! Either way, Seran needs my help._ I ran over to my mentor, shaking his shoulder and glaring warily at the chained Crewe. "Seran?! Are you alright?!" He flinched, looking up at me. "What are you doing here?!" He snapped, anger flashing through his eyes, but gone so soon that it might as well just have not been there.

I glared right back at him, just as angry. "I'm here to get you! You _left _Rowan alone, knowing you were going to be hurt! Are you _trying _to make him feel bad?! And what about me?! I'm your apprentice! I should fight by you, and learn! Not be left behind in a hospital to care for _your _partner, who is depressed because you keep fighting this _Pointless Damned Battle!_" Seran blinked at me, completely shocked. Crewe snickered, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "Shut the hell up!" I snapped, pulling my dagger out and stabbing him in the shoulder, making him hiss with pain and wince. "This is your fault, don't _talk!_"

Seran stood, his legs shaking slightly. "Go home." He said, his eyes dull and emotionless. "Take Rowan and go home." I grabbed him by the shirt, shaking him. "Hell no!" I yelled, furious. "How about _you _go home?!" Crewe snickered again, and suddenly a huge light flashed through the room. _Damn! His light po- _A huge force hit me in the chest, sending me flying into the cold, unforgiving wall with a choked cry. When the light faded, and I blinked my pained eyes back open, the chains had disintegrated. They hadn't even melted, just disappeared, leaving a small amount of charred metal powder on the floor.

Wincing, I stood up and glared at Crewe, who was standing over a collapsed Seran with a triumphant grin. I tried to walk towards them, but Crewe gave a careless flick of his wrist, and I was thrown back once again, warm blood now tricking across my chest. Deciding I could do nothing more for now, I decided to watch, and wait for an opening.

Seran winced, sitting up and holding his head. "Damn you." I heard him mutter. Crewe sneered at my mentor, nudging him with his foot. "How sweet!" He said mockingly, pulling Seran up by his shirt and slamming him into the wall. "Your little apprentice came for you!" Seran winced, glaring daggers at Crewe, but said nothing. Crewe tilted his head, smirking quizzically. "What is it? Did a cat eat your tongue?" Seran's eyes filled with fear, and he pointed behind Crewe, who immediately dropped him, kicked him in the chest, and turned, his eyes widening.

Curious, I whipped my head around, looking behind me to see the man from outside; The Seer. "You!" Crewe snarled, eyes filled with anger... mixed with fear and apprehension. "What are you doing here?" I frowned; why were they so scared? He had seemed to be a nice person! He was strange, yes, but not fear-inspiring. The black-eyed Seer looked over, a ghost of a smile flashing at me. Crewe glanced over at me, confusion dominating his eyes. "I repeat myself, you Cursed bastard! What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for Azenvel Renwis and Seran Diarel." He replied in a monotone voice. Crewe snickered, although it sounded a bit hysterical. "You think you'll just _get _them from me?" The Seer's eyes flashed with unidentifiable emotion, and he walked up to Crewe, "Step out of my way, Crewe." Crewe sneered, unconsciously running a hand through his blood-red hair. "No, these are my prisoners!" The Seer nodded, "I knew you would say that, just like how I know the rest of your pathetic future." Crewe and Seran flinched, both moving back a half-meter. _Why do they flinch? What do they know that I don't? _The Seer flinched suddenly, crouching down and gripping his head in his hands, his face looking both terrified and angry. Muttering to himself, he fumbled with his headphones, slipping them on. The Seer relaxed suddenly, taking a deep breath and standing.

_What the hell...? _Crewe had backed up, his usually smug face pale with fear. "H..haha! Still having problems with your sanity?!" The Seer nodded, walking over to me. "Hello Azenvel, are you ready to go? I'm sorry for my sudden appearance in your life, but the future told me it was necessary." "It's fine..?" I replied, confused. He walked over to Seran, who flinched away from him. The Seer frowned, pulling him up. "It's different now, Seran. Don't be afraid, I've never lied in my life, and I won't start now." Seran looked warily at him, and then frowned at me, confused.

The Seer led the way out, Crewe glaring at us with fists balled, but doing nothing. _Why does he fear the Seer so much? He called him "Cursed", maybe that has something to do with it? _As soon as we arrived at the surface and had walked out of the stone hut, The Seer turned to Seran. "I need to take Azen to see something, alright? Rowan is currently sobbing into a pillow, so I'd recommend you get over there. Bye!" He walked off, beckoning to me. I glanced at Seran, who nodded hesitantly, and ran after the Seer.

"Why does Crewe fear you?" I asked after a few minutes of dull traveling. "I told him his future." The Seer replied simply, smiling an awkward smile at me. He slid the headphones off his head and onto his neck, ruffling his flattened hair with one hand. "Why did you put on your headphones in there?" I questioned. "Well..." He seemed to hesitate for a minute, frowning. "I'm... unstable, I suppose you could say." he scowled, insanity flashing through his eyes. "It's... hard, knowing everything at once. I'm not demon, nor am I human, I am the only one of my kind. My species is weak, but has incredible mental capabilities, but despite that, it's not enough; not even close. The music helps, it gets rid of the voices for a while, helps me concentrate on something other than the trillions of memories, thoughts, names, d..deaths..." He shuddered, pulling his headphones back on and leaning against a tree, eyes shut.

He was silent for many moments, leaving me to think about what I'd just learned. _So, he's unstable... he can't be too insane, if he knows that he is! Insane people don't think they are insane, right? Although, he said that was unstable... maybe he has flashes of insanity, where he thinks he's sane! Poor guy, having to deal with all of that. The bad stuff outweighs the good, I suppose! _The Seer slid his headphones off, opening his now-exhausted eyes and giving a small smile. "Sorry. Shall we keep going?" I nodded nervously, walking alongside him.

"Where are we going, exactly?" I asked, curious. He smiled, laying his hand on a particularly _huge _tree, which slid open, revealing a ladder down. "My home!" I looked at him, looked at the ladder, and groaned, beginning to climb down. "Why do you live so close to Crewe?" I asked as we were heading down. "I don't!" He replied, stepping cautiously on every rung. "My powers extend beyond future and past, whenever I press my palm on a large tree, it creates a type of 'portal' to my house. I invented it; its a small charm." I frowned, confused. _I don't get it, but it sounds pretty damn amazing! _Taking the last step down, I entered the main room, and gasped.


End file.
